Maybe it's a dream maybe it's white
by BibiMao
Summary: Your town goes down and then what? You've been safe for years but evil always finds a way into your life. Eudocia witnessed the Colossal Titan ruin her town. She'd seen how her friends broke down. It happened all too suddenly. "Just like that."
1. From me to you

**I don't own anything except for Eudocia, my OC. So enjoy if you can.**

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"Armin are you still carrying that old book around?" My question fell on deaf ears. He only seemed to slow down. The swish of his hair is what made me take a step back. "I'm sorry. I just, I want to read it again." His eyes glistened (Sparkled?) at my request.

"Really?!" The sudden warmth on my hands and his loud voice made me flinch. I smiled nonetheless.

"Of course," I slide my hands out from between his fingers. "Eren isn't the only one who wants to visit the outside." The loss of excitement in his bright blue orbs is what made me worry.

"Look at what the cat dragged in? A kid who's been converted by the heretic." I sighed before turning around.

"Why don't you mind your own business?" I bark out with outstreched arms. The shivering of my legs made me look useless and not terrifying. The drop of sweat running alongside my cheeckbone made it look like I was exhausted. The quivering smirk I attained on my face had me looking like a child who's lost their candy. The harsh tug of my pigtail brought thoughts to my head of how light and unfit I am as it brought me down to the cold cement ground.

"Why would you look at that boys? This girl thinks she's intimidating." The laughter from the three teens echoed in the empty alley. A soundless yet hurtful kick to my side made me yelp in pain.

"Girl?! Boss not to sound rude or anythin' but the noise that just came out of her mouth didn't sound like some normal girl." One of the bullies commented. I was in such a daze that I couldn't tell him otherwise.

"Yeah! Sounded more like a dog to me." I managed to open my eyes to locate Armin. I saw that he was held up against the wall by the one who called me a dog. We made eye contact for a split second before my pigtail was tugged again.

"Eudo-"The sound of Armin's yelling managed to attract the two away from me. Beginning to pick myself up, I stare through my uncombed bangs. I couldn't stand to look at Armin's battered face. Looking down at my brown sandals and (now littered with black spots) tan dress I stifle a shout.

"What's wrong heretic?" The loud sound of body against wall brought me out of my daze. "If you don't like it, hit back!" Stumbling and nearly tumbling to the floor, I pick myself up.

"No way, that would put me on your level!" I clench the now forming bruise on my right side and stagger my way towards the wall.

"What?!" The leader of the bullies questioned angrily.

"You know what I said is true. That's why you're hitting me instead of arguing." The hand on his shirt seemed to loosen for a second. "Doesn't that mean you admit I win?" Inhaling air into my lungs, I push myself off the wall. Removing one sandal from my foot, I target the leader's head and chuck it at him.

"He's right! You're all idiots who are no better than the titans!" He glares angrily at me and I glare right back.

"What are you waiting for? Get her for what she called us!" I squeeze my eyes shut when I see the fattest of the three begin to walk towards me.

"Stop it!" I turn my head to where the voice came from, and so does everyone else. I smile at my friend Eren's, sudden appearance.

"That's Eren!" One of them shouts.

"The fool's back!" The 2nd hollers. I shake my head at their continuing comments before tiptoeing over to Armin's side. If Eren's here, that means-

"N-no, let's get out of here!" Mikasa's here as well. I sit myself down beside Armin and look at the forming bruise on his cheek.

"They ran away when they saw me!" I stare at Eren for a few seconds before deciding that I should say something.

"No it was Mi-" Armin started before I cut him off.

"Thanks Eren." He smiles at me. "And Mikasa." I smile at her and wait for her nod.

"Ouch…" I instantly turn to Armin and grab his shoulder. Eren and Mikasa are soon in front of us.

"Are you okay Armin?" He stares at Eren's outstreched hand before removing my hand off his shoulder.

"I can stand on my own." I stay seated on the floor for a while longer, hurt at Armin's action. Not soon after, a hand comes into my view and I smile at Mikasa. Grabbing onto her I pick myself up, wincing at the immense pain located on my hip.

"Cia…" Mikasa whispers my nick name. I sigh before looking from right to left, then at Armin and Eren. She catches my stare and inclines her head towards their direction. "Look away." Eren begrudgingly listens and crosses his arms while Armin nods and faces the same way. She hands me my sandal I had thrown and watches as I slide it on. Reaching the end of my dress, I slide it up above my hip just enough so the bruise is noticeable. I'm not embarrassed with having her see since this isn't the first time. Happens occasionally whenever I'm injured, she always takes a look. Her fingers brush against the purple spot and her ministrations stop when she catches me wince again. She waits for 2 seconds and runs along it once more. I shiver as a sudden breeze flows by and she notices. Her hand retreats back to her side while I let the dress down. She reaches for my hair this time, pulling the white ribbons. My dark reddish/brownish hair cascades down till it reaches about mid back. She pockets the ribbons and rubs the spot once more before turning towards Eren and Armin.

"Thanks and sorry for not thinking." I whisper shame laced in my voice. She only shakes her head before fixing the scarf around her neck. I dust myself off once more before walking alongside Mikasa to Eren and Armin. We made our way to the river and everyone sat in different spots. Eren by the ledge, Armin on the top stair, Mikasa by the bottom, and me one step from the water.

"So I said Humanity should go out into the world someday and Eudocia mentioned that she wanted to know more about the outside." He paused for a while before continuing. " Then they hit us and called me a Heretic." I sighed when I heard that word again.

"Damn." I stare at the rock Eren had thrown into the river. They may have called me a dog but I don't want to mention that nor do I think it's something to get all fussy over. "Why does everyone act like you're crazy if you want to go outside?" That question has been in my mind since before I can remember.

"Because staying within the walls has brought peace for a hundred years." That makes sense but can't it be because they're scared? I pull the strands of my hair apart one by one, already bored with having this conversation again. "They're afraid that if many of us venture out, we'll risk letting them in." The lock of hair I had in my fingers was beginning to get smaller and smaller. Each strand represents everyone who had died while fighting the Titans and being – "So the royal government declared any interest in the outside world taboo." **Devoured. **The people-**My** people were eaten long ago and no one can hide from the truth. Not grandparents, parents, siblings, nor kids.

"You can't." I incline my head towards Mikasa. "No." I giggle at the sternness of her voice, as if she's actually Eren's responsible older sibling. She acts just like my older brother, Toxeus. The only difference between her and him is that he is less restricting. Just like Mikasa when it comes to Eren and his decisions, Toxeus makes it loud and clear about what he wants and doesn't want.

"Well…they weren't happy." I release the remaining strands of my hair and stretch instead.

"Who wasn't happy?" I question as I lean back. Eren stares at me as if my question was stupid. "I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention." I look off towards clear blue running water. I must have had a sad look on my face because he only sighed.

"My parents. They found out about me wanting to join the Scouting Legion." I blink at him before staring up at the blue sky.

"Makes sense. " He turned away to continue talking with Armin. "It's dangerous…" I mutter as softly as I can. I too want to join the Scouting Legion but unlike Eren, I haven't told my older brother. I think it will hurt him and I know I'm being selfish by not even considering telling him.

"Just because the walls haven't been breached in a hundred years doesn't mean they won't be." He suddenly stops and all that can be heard is the sound of the wind. "Breached today." Closing my eyes, I notice the gentle breeze had slowed down till it was completely still. I feel myself being thrown up into the air, closer to the sky, reaching for the clouds. My stomach flips and it all happens at a slow pace as I turn myself over and see everyone else. Mikasa had been thrown to where I was sitting while I landed in her original spot. The switch happened with Armin and Eren as well. Thankfully, I landed on my arms and no cuts or gashes were formed.

"An explosion?" The question circulated in my head.

"If that was an explosion, it was a pretty big one." In front of us everyone starts to run in a mob towards the wall. Armin sped off ahead of us towards the wall and having no other option, we ran behind our friend. His abrupt stop made me bump into him and nearly made me fall but I managed with my feet. Looking up towards the wall, that's when I see it. That's when everyone had seen it. The large lack of skin hand gripped the wall with such great force that it almost completely shattered in its hold.

"Why, that wall is fifty meters tall!" I couldn't even comprehend what Armin was saying. The next thing we knew, the head was next and it lacked skin. All it really was was a big chuck of meat with teeth and steam protruding out of it. When it kicked was when I knew humanity was at a loss again. "It broke…a hole in the wall." I too wanted to crumble to the ground and gape but that wouldn't benefit anyone. I understand how Armin feels but if we stay in one spot for two long-if we stay in this town any longer, we'll all be eaten.

"Armin we need to go. We need to go now!" I grab his arm and pull him up, with Mikasa's help of course. My side was hurting like crazy but all that matters right now is getting everyone up and out.

"Eren?" I look in his direction and see him walking off in a daze. Everyone dashes past him screaming their heads off and bumping into him.

"My house is over there…" That's the last thing I heard before he ran off towards his house. Mikasa following not far behind him.

"Mikasa!" Armin reaches out for them and I see from the corner of my eye how his arm is shivering. I grab onto his forearm and pull him back with me.

"They have their family and we have ours." I manage out with a quivering voice. When I was pulling him alongside me, he began muttering some strange things.

"It's all over; the Titans are going to take the city!" I pull him along faster trying to withstand my injury and tears.

"They're going to take the city but they're not-never going to take us." I let the tears fall freely, not being able to withhold them anymore. We were just talking about it, how can it just happen? "Just like that!" I scream out while sobbing. My hold on Armin just got stronger with each passing thought.

_Just like that_

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**A/N**

**I apologize for this. Where I live it's been hot, in the three digits and all I had was my laptop and the 1****st**** episode of SNK. As of right now I don't know if I really even want to continue this but if anyone really wants me to I will. I should be focusing on my other story but I decided to take a break for a while. I just wrote whatever came to my head while watching the episode. Yes this is an OC story and I will not be focusing so much on her brother nor will I really focus on love in this story. If I do, it will be like 20 chapters in or something. I mainly just want to focus on friendship and so I made Eudocia. So many mistakes and go ahead favorite, review. Do what you want while I work on a drawing her. I'm bad at describing as you can see so I'll just settle on drawing a picture and hopefully you all will take a look at that. If there's a way you can tell I didn't really care while writing this, it's by my "inspirational song" for this chapter. **

**Here it is - Assassin's Creed 3 Rap Parody**

**Smosh? Yes. = w =**


	2. From me to?

**Thanks for following. I really appreciate it and since the first chapter was written on a whim, I'll try my best to make this fic enjoyable. I'm sorry that I never described my character in the 1****st**** chapter but she has dark red (Looks dark brown in the shade) hair and brown eyes. I drew her but I need to scan it so I suppose I'll start the 2****nd**** chapter now. Enjoy ' _ ' )/**

_**Zhiganshina **_

Screams, cries, and blood littered the town along with dismembered body parts. Families were running for their lives with nothing but fear edging them on. Parents were eaten as their children watched in horror. One child in particular watched as his mother was lifted up into the air and devoured by a Titan. This boy's name is Eren Jaeger. He vowed to exterminate all Titans off the face of the earth for what they had done. Mikasa Ackerman, his caring adoptive sister will follow him and protect him no matter what. She follows Eren and his decisions but is level-headed when she needs to be. Armin Arlert is a childhood friend of both Eren and Mikasa and has also chosen to join them in joining the Scouting Legion. He was often bullied by everyone for wanting to go outside the walls but he wasn't the only curious one. Eudocia Asker is also a childhood friend of the three and had wished to go outside the walls alongside Armin. Unlike Eren, she didn't see the remains of the human race as cattle but rather as frightened people afraid of changes. She has an older brother named Toxeus who cares for her deeply.

_Armin's POV_

"Eudocia have you found him?" She shakes her head from left to right before groveling at the remains of her house frantically. I take a step and approach her at a soundless pace. "Do you need help?" I ask her with the softest voice I can make. She turns down my offer once more.

"Armin." I turn my head to look at my grandpa. He fixes his hat before approaching me in slow steps. "Leave her be. We need to board the ship as soon as possible or we won't make it."

"But grandpa-"

"Armin." His voice is as sharp as a blade. Not wanting to anger my grandpa any longer, I try one more time to talk to her. Leaning down, I take a good look at her face through her hair.

"I'm sure your brother has already boarded a ship. He'll be waiting for you in Wall Rose!" Her digging pauses. I know I'm getting through to her! "He'll be there with a smile and your ribbons!"

"…"

"What?" Her voice was so quiet that I couldn't hear a word.

"Really?" She speaks up. I nod with a smile and furrowed brows. She picks herself up and doesn't even try to dust herself off. Her hair is a mess going in every single direction and her body is adorned with black smudges. She extends her hand towards me. Though her tears are falling freely and she looks like a complete wreck, she smiles nonetheless. "Armin let's go meet everyone." This time I take her hand.

_Time Skip_

I look over the railing, searching for both Mikasa and Eren. I needn't worry about my brother since he's already in Wall Rose. I don't mind that he left without me because he probably thought I was in Wall Rose as well.

"You both sit." I turn to Armin with a frown. He looks down at his grandpa who is seated alongside the rest who made it aboard.

"But Mikasa and Eren aren't here yet." Looking away from them, I see two familiar faces at the gate. I tug on Armin's sweater. "There they are!" He shouts while pointing. I turn away from him smiling and raise my hand to wave before I feel a weight on my right arm.

"Huh?" I make a noise at Armin's sudden action.

"Don't talk to them. Poor kids going by appearances, it must've been bad." I follow his grandpa's order and instead sit myself down. I wonder what happened as I rest my head in my arms.

_Several Hours After Zhiganshina's Fall_

"I'll kill them." I awake from my sleep on Mikasa's shoulder. Rubbing my eyes, I notice Eren walking towards the railing with clenched fists. I rub my tired eyes before standing up alongside Mikasa.

"Eren." She whispers and I'm the only one who hears her.

"What's wrong Eren?" Armin lays his hand on his shoulder but gets shoved off by Eren.

"Eren… what?" I walk over to Armin and pull Mikasa along.

"I'll kill them all!" Eren shouts with pure rage and tears streaming down his face. I take a step back and feel a lump form in my throat at his voice. Armin only flinches and stares with widened eyes at him. "I'll wipe every one of them off the face of this Earth!" He screams once more at the sunset. We all stare with shocked eyes and open mouths. All that could be heard was the wailing of awakened babies and the sound of the running river.

_That year, the central government decided to fall back within Wall Rose. During that period of time, the Titans consumed ten thousand people. _

**Eren's POV**

"Eren." Mom? No it can't be. Mikasa? "Eren." I open my eyes and notice that only I and Mikasa are inside the storage house. "Eren, are you okay? You were tossing and turning." I grab my head and close my eyes. The sunlight hitting me is really annoying.

"I feel like I saw my dad." I answer her question.

"That can't be. It was only a dream." She tries to assure me but the dream seemed too realistic and I can't help but question it.

_Was it only just a dream?_

"Let's go. They said they're going to distribute food." I blink at her before noticing something.

"Armin and Eudocia?" I stuff the key back into my shirt and stand up.

"They already left saying that they'll try to get us whatever they can." I yawn before walking off ahead of her. Once we make it outside, the first thing I see are people fighting over food.

"Eren!"

"Mikasa!" Hearing our names, we turn to the source of it. I notice both Armin and Eudocia running towards us with loafs of bread in their arms. They seem really excited for some reason…idiots.

"Why are you both smiling like that?" I question with a pointed finger.

"Like what?" They both tilt their heads with closed eyes. I feel my eye twitch at their syncing.

"Nothing." I give up on trying to talk to them and instead look from the corner of my eye at Mikasa. She's smiling as well. I feel a headache coming on from all the smiles.

"Eren, look." My eyes drift down to Armin's chest. "My grandpa got these for us kids. Eudocia has some as well."

"Hey I have a question." We all turn our heads to look at Eudocia. "Isn't my name annoying to say? I mean it's long and it must be."

"What do you mean?" Armin asks before I even get the chance to say anything.

"I'm talking about a nickname." She hands a loaf of bread to Mikasa. "Can you think of-"

"Eu."

"Do."

"Cia." She looks at the three of us blinking.

**Eu Do Cia's POV**

"Are those the only things you can come up with?" They only took apart my name and called it a nickname.

"Well which one do you like more?" Armin asks me. I look at the three of them before sighing.

"Cia sounds like a good choice." Mikasa smiles at my choice while Eren looks at us annoyed. I laugh before breaking my bread into pieces and plopping them in my mouth. As Armin is handing Eren a loaf, I feel someone staring at us.

"Tch." We all turn and watch as one of the guards stares at us like trash before walking away. I take a look at our clothing and notice that we still have our old dirty clothes from yesterday.

"Just because we look like this doesn't mean we're trash." I mutter plopping another piece into my mouth.

"It's not that." I bend my head at Armin. "I don't think there's enough food for everyone. They say that's all we'll get today." I plop the last piece into my mouth and savor the taste.

"There are too many refugees and not enough food to begin with. The farther out you live, the less they care." I run my hand through my hair and love how straight it is. While I was asleep on the ship, Mikasa straightened it out for me. Once we reached this place, Armin was right. My brother was waiting anxiously at the port. Unlike me, he was born with my mother's genes and instead had dark brown hair and light brown eyes. He gave me one light red ribbon and said that that was all he could do before he was evacuated. He hugged me again this morning before going off with Armin's grandpa to help him in getting more food.

"The ribbons. Mikasa," I take out the ribbon from my pocket and hand it to her. "Thanks for everything." She takes them and gives me back my two white ones.

"Thank you." She says as I pocket the two. I wave my hand at her as a sign of 'No worries'.

"Why do we have to share our food with outsiders?" We look at the guard from before. "If the Titans were breaking through anyway, they should have eaten more, so there'd be fewer mouths." I feel my brows furrow while Armin stares with an opened mouth and Mikasa looks on in shock. Eren was a whole new matter. An angry face replaces his usual straight one and I even hear him growl. He walks towards him with clenched fists while we watch in surprise.

"Eren!" Armin tries to stop him. I don't because what they said isn't right!

"Now there's just that much left food." The guy continues running his mouth even though Eren is right in front of him. Eren brings his foot back before kicking the guard in the shin at full force it looked like.

"Ow!" I smile at his girlish yell.

"He doesn't even seem like a guard." I whisper and thankfully no one heard me.

"What are you doing stupid kid?" Eren raises his hand for a punch but is too slow and gets punched and even kicked instead. The kick to the side reminds me of how much that hurts. I reach my hand to my side and flinch at the feeling.

"Eren!" I yell before running towards him alongside Mikasa and Armin. I kneel beside him. "Are you-"

"You have no idea…you've never even seen it!" I stare at the guards and their shocked faces. They don't know what to say. "The way they eat people!"

"Why you!" I shield Eren with my body as I see him approaching us. He wouldn't hit a girl right?!

"I'm sorry!" Armin intervenes with outstretched arms. "He's just upset because he's hungry. That's why he's being rude to an adult." I lift myself up from Eren and let Mikasa try to talk instead. "I'm r-really sorry!" I look up at the man with frightened eyes hoping that would work. He looks me over before eyeing the crowd that had formed because of the commotion.

"Jeez…the only reason you aren't starving is because of us, got it?" He begins to walk off and Armin lowers his arms. "Even a kid should show gratitude!"

"Right!" I feel my shoulders relax at Armin's voice.

"Damn it, no guy like that's looking after me." We simply stare at Eren's final comment.

_Time Skip_

"I'm going back to Wall Maria. I'm going to kill all the Titans!" I stand beside Mikasa and listen to Eren while he talks crazy again.

"Eren, you aren't serious, right?" Armin questions nervously.

"I am serious!" He jumps off from where he was previously seated. "I'm not like them, sitting inside the walls and acting tough! I don't need this!" He throws his bread at Armin.

"Eren you'll starve!"

"This doesn't bother you?! We can't win until we can stop depending on stuff from them!"

"It's impossible! We can't defeat the Titans! There's nothing we can do but live inside the walls...if you do something dumb, you'll die just like my mom and dad!" I tried to intervene but I was brushed off by Eren's yelling.

"So we should suck up to them instead?! Aren't you ashamed?!"

"Right now…right now there's no choice!"

"That's just an excuse! Then spend the rest of your life as cattle, weakling!"

"Eren quiet down, people are beginning to stare." I put my hands in front of him.

"And you, I could take care of myself!" I lower my hands to my side.

"What?"

"I didn't need you shielding me from him, I'm not weak! Unlike you, I don't need an older brother doing everything for me!" I don't know what to say. I'm surprised at what he said to Armin and to me. Mikasa appears from beside me and punches him to the ground.

"Mikasa?"I'm shocked at what she just did. Did Mikasa really do that? Should I be angry? Should I be sad? Should I cry?

"If they're both weaklings, so are we." I shakily walk towards Armin. "We didn't even run from the Titans or from the city on our own two feet." Eren finally begins to stand up. "We couldn't even get the food we're eating today without help." He stares at Mikasa with wide and hopefully opened eyes. "Anyone so weak couldn't possibly defeat a single Titan." He looks away angry at what she said. "What matters is survival. Just like your mother said." She takes back the loaf of bread from Armin and shoves it in Eren's mouth.

"Mikasa." Armin extends his arm towards her.

"Eat and survive! I will not let you starve." Watching Eren cry is enough to make my lip quiver and have me holding back tears. Not knowing what to do I push both Mikasa and Armin onto Eren and hug them with all my strength.

"Eu?"

"Do?"

"Cia."

"I'm sorry!" I sob and bury my face deeper into their sweaters. "Just promise me we'll all survive?" I feel hands on my shoulders and not soon after, someone starts getting up.

"Idiot, what kind of question is that?" I hear Eren as I lift myself up from off them.

"I just-"

"No doubt we will!" Even if everyone is staring at us with weird faces and disapproving stares, if my friends are with me than I don't care.

_Several days later, refugees were sent in droves to till the wastelands, to bring in more food. But even still there wasn't enough. And the following year, in 846, the central government used many refugees in an operation ostensibly to recover Wall Maria. Two hundred fifty thousand, in all…Approximately twenty percent of the population. But there were only just over a hundred survivors. Their sacrifice alleviated the food shortage for the rest of us somewhat. _

We watch as Armin holds onto his grandpa's hat and cries. Its dark and no one's out but us kids. I hug my bag close to my chest. I already shed my tears this whole afternoon once I found out. My brother died alongside Armin's grandpa and had left me this bag. I didn't know why he stayed up all night while the rest of us were sleeping nor did I know why he asked us for colors at random. It was when I found this bag hidden beneath all his clothing. This bag was filled to the top with different kinds of ribbons. All different colors and maybe even one of every kind. If these were his final gifts to me, I'll be sure to cherish them, wear them, and treat them as if they were him. I won't let these go to waste and I'll be sure to wear them every day.

"It's all because of the Titans. If we destroy them, we can retake our home." I cover my face with my bag. Home. Wouldn't we all like to go back? "I'm enlisting next year." I tighten my hold on the bag. "I'll gain the power to kill Titans!"

"Me too." I lower the bag from my face and stare at them.

"Armin?"

"Me too!" I flinch at Armin's sudden yell.

"I'll go as well." I turn to Mikasa.

"Mikasa, you don't have to. Didn't you say that it's important to survive?" Eren tries to argue with her decision.

"That's right. So I'll go, to keep you from dying." I tighten my hold on the bag and gulp, wondering if I'm making the right choice.

"You won't leave me behind. I'll join too." They stare at me with disbelief. I furrow my brows as a sign of confidence.

"All right. The four of us." We all follow Eren's gaze and look up at the star filled sky.

_Year Skip_

"We now begin the enlistment ceremony for the 104th Trainee corps! I am Keith Shadis, and I had the misfortune to be assigned to train you bastards! I'm not here to welcome you at all! Right now you're mere cattle fit for nothing but Titan food! No… less than cattle. In three years we'll take you worthless pieces of crap and train you! Give you the means to fight the Titans. In three years, when you stand before a Titan, will you still be food? Or will you be a noble wall shielding the king? Or perhaps one of humanity's glorious soldiers that slay Titans? You will decide!"

_As Keith continued his speech, there were four teens. Four teens who have promised to be with each other till _the_ end and survive. Eren Jaeger, Mikasa Ackerman, Armin Arlert, and Eudocia Asker. Do they have what it takes to survive? Or was their promise only a lie? _

_Yes…that's what I'll be…and I'll kill every last Titan in existence!_

**AN**

**I apologize for any mistakes and I really hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'll be drawing more pictures of Eudocia along with other characters. I'm reading the manga but if I follow it, it will be a spoiler for all who are watching the anime. So yes I will be following the anime and for every ten chapters or five I'll do "specials". As for the her name, it's pronounced like this. **

**Eh – oooh**

**Doe (As in the female deer)**

**C-Ah **

**That looks totally wrong but you can hear how it sounds in Google Translate or something. Thank you all for reading and I hope to um see you again!**

**Inspirational Song – Can't I Even Dream**

**Cover by – Rockleetist **

**Original by – H. Miku**

**I don't own anything aside from Eudocia and her brother! Have a nice night and/or day! ' ^ ' )/**


	3. To Become Anew

**Thanks fellow follower. ^ ^ Really appreciate it. So I suppose ribbons are Eudocia's character items. Don't know if I should be happy or something because I'm going to have to draw different kinds of ribbons now. Well, I don't mind. Chapter…BEGIN!**

* * *

"You there!"

"Yes, sir!" That's Armin's voice! I was awfully tempted to turn my head and see what's happening but I'm too scared of getting in trouble. I gulp and stare from the corner of my eye.

"Who are you?"

"Armin Arlert, from Zhiganshina!" He barks out.

"Yeah? That's a stupid name." A frown threatens to appear on my face at what he just said. Don't move an inch. Don't move an inch. Don't move an inch. Just keep your hands clasped behind your back and you'll be fine! I decide to ignore all his yells and instead focus on some of the other recruits faces. Some were smiling, scared, and most wear just plain…emotionless. If I remember right, I believe Armin had a frightened expression. That must mean he's only looking for frightened recruits or those who believe that it will be extremely easy. Not wanting to be "interviewed" I clasp my hands tighter together and stare straight ahead with furrow brows and a straight face. Did Mikasa have it like this? It's so hard to imitate Mikasa when she's not in your line of vision no wait; it's **REALLY **hard to try to imitate her at all! Oh man I feel a frown coming on again.

Must keep straight face.

**No.**

Must keep straight face.

**No.**

Must Keep straight face!

**No.**

MUST KEEP STRAIGHT FACE!

…

I was having some internal war with myself because part of me wants to have a frown but I really do not want to get yelled at.

"Row 3 about face!" I see from the corner of my eye that Armin is now facing the opposite direction. As the instructor is walking towards my direction, I shift my eyes to the center and manage to keep my straight face on. It works because he walks right past me and focuses on another girl.

"Mina Karolina, from Karanes!" She shouts out. For a moment, I see something red and that's when I notice it's her face. Poor girl having to shout that loud.

"Listen up! I've seen a lot of shit in my time, but you are the sorriest pieces of shit I've ever seen! You're in for three years of hell!" His voice blares loudly. I try my best not to reach up and fell my ribbons for comfort. A habit that I've grown over the years is whenever I need reassurance or comfort for that matter, I always need to touch one of my brother's ribbons. I love my brother so much that I don't care what day it is and wear any ribbon I feel like wearing. Today though, I just had to go with the bright red ribbons and put my hair in my usual pigtails. I resist the urge to turn around at the sudden noise of grunting and what sounded like a body hit the floor.

"You're doing it wrong, Connie Springer. I explained that this salute demonstrates your resolve to devote your entire heart to the people. Is your heart on your right side?" Who could possibly do the salute wrong? I don't think it's that hard but people make mistakes sometimes. I just hope –What was his name? - Connie fixes it.

"Hey, you…what are you doing?" What is the person doing?! Now I really want to turn but I don't want to get yelled at. Why is there no answer? I let my question face – One eyebrow down, one high and a circle shaped mouth – slip and question this year's trainees.

"You're the one I'm talking to! You, who are you?!" The instructor's yelling brings me back to reality and I take a moment to shake my head vigorously from left to right. I settle down and notice multiple eyes on me. I feel my face heat up at the attention and immediately shift my eyes to the brown dirt beneath me.

"Sasha Blause, from Dauper village, Wall Rose South District!" Sasha sounds like a person you shouldn't get involved with. Just what is she doing angering the instructor so much?

"Sasha Blause, what are you holding in your right hand?" He questions with a frighteningly calm voice. Oh so she's holding something?

"A boiled potato! The kitchen had a fresh batch and I couldn't resist." At least she's honest with her answer.

"Did you steal it? Why? Why would you choose to eat a potato now?" Did she not eat breakfast this morning or did she just want to anger him and leave right after.

"Letting it get cold would've been a waste, so I decided to eat it now." Amazing. She's brave and nonchalant about it as if she was at home and this happened all the time.

"Well, I still don't understand why you would eat that potato?" He questions once again.

"Are you asking me why people eat potatoes?" She answered (?) him with a question. Did she just ask that? Now this I have got to see. I turn my head but I make sure not to turn my whole body. It would be way harder for me to turn back around once he's over with her. They have some stare off and after a few seconds she begins to break the potato in two. Once she's finished, it looks as if she's debating on which piece she should give away. It would be the bigger piece no? She can't possibly be thinking of-

"You can half." SHE DECIDED ON THE SMALL PIECE?! I have no words for to describe myself at her decision. If it had to be one, it would be blindness.

"Half?" The instructor muttered while looking between the potato in his hands and at Sasha. Is she going to say anything more? Everyone stares waiting for her reaction. My neck hurts from watching at this angle and I'm ready to turn my head but something catches my eye for the last second. Sasha Blause, the girl who just made fun of the instructor, smiled.

She smiled with potato crumbs on her face.

**Five Hours Later**

"He's still making that potato girl run." Marco commented. I stood between Armin and Eren watching as we call her, "potato girl". As we were training, she was running around the camp for hours nonstop. She still had her uniform on and that is such a pain to take off. The other trainees had gotten to take off their uniform and replace it with something clearly more fitting. I was wearing a short blue Amigaut that stopped mid thigh and a loose belt was tied around my waist. My skirt's a light gray color and I have the same brown boots as all the other recruits. The only real difference between me and everyone else is that I still have my ribbons on. I think I positioned my pigtails really high; they're above my ears while every other girl has pigtails or ponytails for that matter, nearly at the tips of their hair! I have side swept bangs that I tend to brush either towards the left or right but as of right now, I have them facing left.

"The dropouts." Connie either answered or commented.

"There's dropouts?" I tilt my head to the side in order to look at him.

"Were you really not paying any attention to what we were just talking about?" Eren seemed a bit angry at me. I play with my pigtails as a way of saying 'sorry I messed up'. He and everyone else merely watch as I hit them from the bottom and they bounce up.

"I was thinking about something, sorry." I don't stop hitting them because he hasn't stopped staring at me. He also hasn't said a word and that's also what I'm waiting for from him. He sighs and continues speaking to Connie.

"They requested a transfer to the frontier. " Connie continues.

"What? But it's only the first day." I hear Mina say in astonishment.

"If you aren't strong enough you have to leave. Hard to believe they'd rather go back to weeding and picking up rocks." Eren says with….Was that pity? I stop playing with my pigtails and look down at my boots instead.

"Hey, he didn't ask where you two were from, did he." I look up at Marco and smile. I lift up a pointed finger and take a deep breath before doing what I am about to do.

"We're from Zhiganshina, the same as him." I bring my finger back down because of Eren answering before I did. I turn around and try my best to glare up at him with a forced frown. My hands are balled into fists in front of my chest and he just watches me with a smile. Not fair!

"I see…That's…" I stop my pretending and stare at Marco's petrified face. I shift my eyes to everyone else and see them with the same look. Why are there staring at us like that?

"Then, weren't you there on that day?" Connie questions excitedly.

"H-hey…" Marco tries to prevent him from continuing.

"Did you see the Colossal Titan?" He continues with even more excitement. I smile and place my hand on Eren's shoulder which causes him to stare quizzically at me.

"As a matter of fact," I lift a pointed finger once more. "We did." They stare at us in awe.

"Really?" Mina asks once more. I turn my head to face her and give Eren's shoulder a light squeeze.

"Y-yeah." I notice he seemed less excited than before. My expression turns into one of worry.

**Time Skip, Dinner**

"This soup sure is delicious right Mikasa?" I ask her with a smile on my face. She merely nods before continuing with her supper. "I sure wish I knew how to cook, than that would make me-" I feel no liquid or any solids as I dipped my spoon into the bean shaped bowl. I look down at the now empty bowl and feel my bottom lip quiver. "Mikasa…Sorry to ask this of you but can Ihavesomeofyoursoup?" The end of my question comes out in a jumbled mess and I can't help but put my hands in a praying manner as I wait for her answer. A 'clank' and 'plop' is what I hear. I stare down at the bowl and notice a chunk of potato and some liquid. My eyes shine as bright as Christmas lights and I face Mikasa my savior, with a huge smile. I hug her while repeating 'thank you' over and over. She only continues eating while ignoring my action. Finishing the newly added pieces and liquid, I pick up my loaf of bread and break it in half. I hand her the bigger piece of the two and shove the small one in my mouth. She lets a small barely noticeable smile pass by for a second before she returns to her usual straight face.

_Gong, Gong, Ding, Dong _

"We should leave." I hear Mikasa after the ringing of the bell. I pick up her plates and leave them beside mine before standing up from my seat.

"Sure I'll follow after you. I want to do something first." She nods at me before standing up and making her way out. I scan my eyes around the other tables to search for someone. A girl and her name is Sasha. I notice she's not here and sigh sadly. Oh that's right she couldn't have dinner today. Guess I'll just have to meet her tomorrow. I pick myself up from the table and make my way over to the exit. I notice Mikasa's nowhere in sight. Wanting to catch up to her, I take off jogging.

"Hey you with the ribbons!" I freeze mid step and turn myself around to face whoever was calling me. I resist the urge to frown because I just made it outside and was already going down the last step.

"Yes?" The person who called me was a boy and I recognize him! He's the one who wants to join the military police.

"Do you know her?" His question goes through my head and I don't understand who he's talking about. Girl, girl, girl, girl, girl, oh is he talking about Mikasa?

"Mikasa? Yeah she's very special to me and one of kind!" I exclaim with a bright smile and closed eyes.

"I see…What about that boy, Eren?" This guy sure asks a lot of questions.

"He's also a very special-"

"Not you. What does he mean to her?" Well that's mean. He cut me off and doesn't even care. Well at least I don't have weird hair. Ha take that mental insult!

"As I was saying, he's a very special person to Mikasa and to me as well." I cross my arms above my chest and stare up at him. Curse him for being so tall and looking down on me. I notice he's quiet for a while and I assume this conversation is over so I turn and step off the final step. Wait…What if he heard my mental insult! I should apologize; I really should.

"Thanks." I almost choke on my own saliva at what he just said. That's when I remember that I haven't even learnt his name yet. Why guts…why do you give me the power to insult people I don't even know? Sighing, I decide to ask him.

"Before I forget, what's your name?" I rest my hands on my hips as I wait for his answer.

"Jean…Jean Kirschtein." Jean sounds like an easy name to remember and I hope I do. Turning on my heel, I stop and feel my pigtails bounce.

"Eudocia Asker. I hope we become great friends…Or friends at least." I mumble the last part before shaking my head. "Anyways, have a nice night." I don't wait for an answer and instead speed off towards Mikasa and Eren. I spot them way off ahead of me and increase my jog to a sprint.

"Hey Mikasa, Eren I made a new friend! Well, I think I did!" They both freeze and stare at my approaching figure. Once again, I gain looks from other trainees and at this moment, I could care less. I finally reach them and bend down with my hands on my knees. That sure took a lot of energy out of me.

"Did you really have to shout that loud?" I wave off Eren's question and pick myself up.

"I was really excited because I made a friend…Well we learnt each other's names, aha." I laugh it off with a hand on the back of my head and one on my hip. I thought I heard Eren mumble idiot but I guess it was just my imagination, dumb me.

"So who is it?" I walk between the two and prepare to answer Eren's question.

"It was Jean." He suddenly pauses his walking and stares at me with narrowed eyes. Did I say something to make him angry?

"You made friends with the first person I nearly got into a fight with?"

"You got into a fight with him?" I asked him with my question expression.

"It really is pointless to argue with someone like you. What were you even doing at the time?" He reverts back to his frown and waits for my answer.

"I was eating…" I answer with shame. He bonks me on the head before continuing his walk.

"Pay attention to your surroundings. That could get you killed when using the Three Dimensional Maneuver Gear." I latch my elbows with both Mikasa and Eren.

"Of course I know that, now let's drop you off at your bed." I whisper because I notice some fires go off. It's time for bed and I really need to rest to prepare myself for tomorrow.

"You will not. Not even at the door." I sigh sadly before turning towards Mikasa and smiling.

**Next Morning**

"First we'll evaluate what you have!" I yawn at the instructor's loud yelling. "Anyone unable to do this can't even serve as a decoy! They will be sent to the frontier!" What about the frontier? Is this an exam? Am I going to die? So many questions ran through my head and I didn't even hear what he was saying. Nope aside from being sent to the frontier, nothing else was heard.

"Next!" Looking from left to right, I notice no one in front of me so I point to myself. "Yes you!" I slowly walk towards the rope/leather thing and gulp. Please don't let me cut myself or anything like that. I stand as still as a rock as the strange man with the long overcoat fixes everything for me. "Alright, there you go." The man walks back to the crank and begins to turn it. I close my eyes and imagine myself on the ground almost as if I didn't float up into the air at all. I feel nothing for about 10 seconds and that's when I open my eyes. I don't look down and instead stare straight at everyone in the crowd. They seem amazed at what I'm doing but everyone else who's doing this are doing the exact same thing. Knowing I have to be here for at least two minutes, I decide to fix my ribbons. This time they're a light blue color and are very thin. These feel so soft and silky.

"Pass! Next!" I feel myself being let down and that's when I notice Mikasa, Armin, and Eren waiting. I wave at them and only Armin waves back.

"Hey did something happen?" Mikasa nods while Eren shakes his head.

"Did you pass?" Armin asks with excitement.

"Yeah how bout you all?" I ask and await their answers.

"Yes."

"Yeah!"

"I will." I stare at Eren and notice his angry expression. I don't like it when he's feeling mad so I give him a thumbs up.

"Yeah you will!"

**Sunset**

"Stick to the basics, and you should be fine. Don't worry about doing well. Watch the balance and stay centered. Slowly rest your weight on the belts attached to your hips and feet." I watched from Eren's right side as Mikasa gave him advice.

"Stay calm, and you can do it. I was able to." Armin assured him.

"This isn't something you can't handle." He looks at all of us and takes a deep breath.

"Okay, I think I can do it this time! Raise me, Armin!" He listens to Eren and turns the crank. He's doing it he's really doing it!

"Ah!" I cringe at seeing him flip and hit his head on the hard ground beneath him.

"Bandages bandages! We need bandages!" I'm running in a circle and jumping around because of what just happened. I bend down and lift his head up. His eyes are wide and he just looks completely out of it. "Mikasa he's bleeding! Armin where are the bandages?!" I would have him lay his head on my pants but they're white.

**WHITE.**

People would get the wrong idea. **Especially** the girls...Ugh girls are so hard to talk to. I lay his head down on the ground before removing the top of my uniform and placing it on the floor. I lift his head up once more and lay him down onto the soft fabric. I notice someone sit by my side that begins to work on his head.

"Ah Mikasa glad you got the bandages."

"Armin had some on him." I should carry bandages too. Wait…Where does he keep them? I mentally shrug and keep a note of that.

"Thanks Armin." I wave at him and he just nods.

"Is he alright?"

"He'll be fine." I stare at Mikasa in awe. She bandaged him up fast. It would be cool if I could do that too.

"Take care of my uniform and I'll go find a table for us, it's almost dinner time." They all nod at me and I sprint off towards the food court. Wait I have to change so….That way! I turn to the other direction and jog off to the girl's beds. I finally reach it and I immediately begin taking off all the annoying straps. I grow frustrated with the strap on the bottom of my foot and pull as hard as I can. "Why won't you…COME OFF!" I don't feel any weight on the strap anymore and a huge smile appears on my face. Yes, yes, yes, wait what's that? I don't have time to ponder as something smacks me hard in the face. That's going to leave a mark…A big red mark. The last thing I see before I black out, is a dark figure looming over me.

**Sometime Later**

"What was that?!" I leap into the air and feel my forehead. A bandage what is that doing there? That's when I notice all the straps have been removed and I'm just on my bed in my uniform. I go to my drawer and pull out my normal clothes before replacing them with my uniform. "I wonder who did that. Are they still here?"

"Yes…" I jump at the sudden voice and grab my chest.

"What? Why did you do that?" I slide my boots on and tighten the belt before making my way over to the mysterious person leaning against the wall. "Never mind that but were you the one who did this?" I point at the bandage on my face and await their answer. It must be a "her" if she's in the girl's cabin.

"Yes…" I smile and clasp my hands together before bending over.

"Thank you so much!"

"…" She doesn't say anything. I decide it's my turn to introduce myself first so I pick myself up and offer my hand to her.

"Eudocia Asker, you?" She lifts her head up and I notice one of the most beautiful shades of blue eyes. (Well aside from Armin's). She steps out from the shadows and as her hand reaches up towards mine, it suddenly stops and comes back down. I don't take it personally but it is a little confusing. I retract my own hand and await her reply.

"Annie Leonhardt." Her tone is smooth and she doesn't seem to have any emotion to it.

"Annie…has supper been given already?" She nods and begins to walk over to her bed.

"Aren't you going to eat? We could go together if you want." I question with a hopeful voice.

"I already ate. " She takes a seat and begins to take off her own boots.

"Oh well-"

"Let it be known that what I did was no act of kindness nor was it an invitation for you to talk to me. If you're searching for a friend, I have no intention of having friendships with anyone. The action I did twenty minutes ago was because you were blocking the path for me when I walked in. It would've caused quite a commotion if I hadn't come across you first. No thanks has to be said, I don't expect anything in return." She lies on her bed and that's when I know I won't be hearing anything from her anymore.

"I still appreciate what you did for me and let this be a fair warning. I will not give up on having a friendship with you. Rest well." I won't and will not give up. I really want to know more about her and yes I do indeed want to be friends. I continue my way to the hall and hear the bell begin to ring. Did I really just skip out on dinner? I guess I'll just have to walk back then…Wait my uniform. If I remember correctly, Eren should have it right? I run with all my speed towards the guy's hall and feel something behind me. That's strange…Why would anyone be out at this hour and why don't I feel my pigtails? Where are my ribbons? Why is my hair so long? Why do I see Eren's cabin from right here?! I can go back to the girl's cabin, retrieve my ribbons, risk getting in trouble for not having my uniform in the morning OR march in there and retrieve my uniform.

Ribbons.

Uniform.

Ribbons.

Uniform.

Ribbons.

**UNIFORM!**

"I don't want to run tomorrow." I whisper and begin to walk towards the door. I raise my hand to knock and that's when I begin to get nervous again. I really just want my ribbons yeah; maybe he'll still be up. Maybe he'll be tal-

"Docia?" I jump and slowly turn my head to face Eren. Only to find that three other people are with him and one of them is Armin.

"Eren who's the little lady?" I begin to shiver at the deep voice and wave with a trembling hand.

"Eu…Eudocia Asker." The blond looks as if he's thinking and suddenly snaps his fingers.

"Ribbons girl?" I nod and he just laughs quietly. "You can't possibly be her. What happened to your ribbons?" I scratch my cheek and laugh…awkwardly if I may add.

"I don't know but I really just came here to ask for something from Eren." I answer nervously.

"Me?" His face clearly shows that he has no idea what I'm talking about.

"I came here for my uniform. Remember the one I let you rest your head on?" He suddenly remembers and excuses himself before walking into the cabin to retrieve it.

"Cia your hair has really grown hasn't it?" I smile at Armin's um…Compliment? I pick at the tips of my hair and notice that it reaches just below my hips.

"It has hasn't it? I actually need to roll it up into small buns to make sure it doesn't get in the way of my training anymore." That's when I remember the third person. "I don't believe you've told me your names, have you?" I turn towards the two tall guys and they only smile.

"Bertholdt Fubar." The tallest one answers. He seems awfully nice maybe we'll be able to become friends. Friends…I like that word.

"Reiner Braun." I wave at the both of them and suddenly the door opens.

"Here," Eren hands me the folded piece of clothing. "I even scrubbed the blood off." I part my bangs to my left and tilt my head down. "What happened to you?"

"What?" I question confused.

"That." He steps towards me and flicks the bandaged spot. My hands instinctively go up to massage the now painful spot.

"I," I look down at the wooden floor and gulp. "Hit myself with the brown leather strap while taking off my uniform." He bursts out laughing and soon after, his friends join in. Armin's the only one who actually cares and even asks me if it still hurts. I shake my head at his question. "Now I better get back to my cabin." I wave at the four of them before sprinting off with the folded piece of cloth held in my right arm. I didn't even wait for their replies; I just needed to get out of there and fast.

**Next Morning**

"Eren Jaeger, are you ready?"

"Yes!" Come on Eren you can do it! We believe in you! I hold onto Mikasa's and Armin's hands with nervousness.

"Begin!" He's going up; he's going up, one second, 5 seconds. I begin to loosen my hand on their hands, close my eyes, and instead raise my hands up towards the sky along with everyone else. He did it, he did it! When I finally open them, I notice Eren's head on the floor and that's when I'm filled with sadness. He didn't do it…I notice how his eyes and voice are trembling and I can't help but feel even more sadness fill me.

"Wagner, change belts with Jaeger!"

"Yes sir!" A little while later he's in the air again and this time he's got it! I do a small clapping motion and jump up and down in place. My pigtails bobbing up and down as I did. The ribbons today are a soft light yellow and I think they're good luck ribbons. These are good luck ribbons meant for Eren. I should tell him later.

"So, he managed to stay upright for a bit, even with a broken belt?" I hear whispers of how cool my friend is and I can't help but feel so proud of him.

"Th-Then, did I pass?" He questions nervously.

"You're fine. Commence training." He raises his arms to the sky and grins at us.

"I guess it all worked out." I pat Armin's shoulder.

"Of course it did." I smile at him.

"He's looking at us as if to say, "See!" He sure is.

"No…He's relieved because he thinks we won't have to be separated now." Mikasa comments in a serious tone. I pat her back and smile at her too.

"Yeah you're right. He won't have to be separated from us now." Cue weird stares from Armin, Bertholdt, and Reiner.

**Sunset**

Trees are everywhere! I can't believe we're finally using the 3DMG and it's really f-_u-_n! Sorry I can't think straight because the wind on my face feels so nice and I feel like a bird that's just been let out of its cage. I don't mind the weight on my legs, that's what all the running and push-ups were for. I glide through the trees and soon catch up with both Mikasa and Eren. I watch Eren as he does a back flip in mid-air and I can't help but want to try that too. Before you know it, we're doing flips back and forth with Mikasa who now joined in on the fun as well! Brother, this is exhilarating and I've got to say, is the best thing out of training! I hope you're proud of me and don't you worry because I'll be using up all of your ribbons while slicing Titans left and right. You just wait and see!

_Wait and see_

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**A/N**

**I apologize deeply for any mistakes you have found (Or may find if you're reading this chapter from the bottom up). I was up till 2 AM yesterday writing this and now I'm editing a few things here and there. I know I said I would put up the picture but my laptop does not want to connect to the printer and I can't scan it. Sorry! This is beginning to look like an Armin x OC story but I'm still not sure if I want that. Just two more chapters and I'll be writing a "special" so be excited for that but only if you want. ^ ^' I don't know if I made anyone ooc and I sure hope I didn't. Anyways, look forward to the 4****th**** chapter (If you want) and have a great day/night!**

**Inspirational Song – Shine Days**

**Performed by – LiSA **

**Thanks for reading! I truly appreciate it! \ ( ^ o ^ ) /**


	4. To Become Anew Once More

**Thanks for the reviews ^ ^' I'll see what I can do to make this fic more enjoyable. I appreciate all my followers and reviewers. Time to read the next chapter, Chapter Start!**

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_The Year 850_

_2 Years After Enlistment _

"You're too slow! Run you laggards!" A voice bellowed in the rain. "What's wrong Arlert?" The instructor asks with anger. He backs up with his horse. "You're falling behind! Is it too heavy for you? Will you be the one guy to remove his equipment?"

Armin breathes heavily at his questions and continues his slow jogging.

"If this were a real fight, you'd be Titan food by now!" He finishes before speeding off ahead with his horse.

**Instructor's POV**

Reiner Braun. A strong soldier, physically and mentally. And trusted by his comrades.

I eye the one who caught up to me. Armin Arlert. While lacking in physical strength, he's demonstrated an extraordinary aptitude for his studies.

Annie Leonhart. Her strike form is flawless. But she works poorly with others and tends to isolate herself.

Bertolt Hoover. He has great potential but lacks initiative.

Jean Kirschstein. A master of 3D Maneuver Gear, but his brash personality causes friction with the team.

Sasha Blause. She has unconventional, good instincts, but they make her unsuited to teamwork.

Connie Springer. He demonstrates superior physical agility, but lacks mental agility.

Mikasa Ackerman. A master of all subjects, and widely considered one of the best in our history.

Eudocia Asker. She is exuberant. Yet has shown to be very meticulous and gregarious. Unless she learns how to control herself, she can be the cause of her demise and possibly her teammates.

Eren Jaeger. He has no outstanding talents, but he's worked harder than anyone to improve his marks. And he is more motivated to attain his goal than anyone.

These soldiers may be just what humanity needs.

**Next Day**

"Hey Mikasa." I wave my hand at her still form. "Can I be the bandit now? I'm tired of trying to flip you." I bring my hand down to my hip and await her answer.

"Here." She says with a monotone voice as she hands me the wooden dagger.

"Alright. Here I go!" I shout and speed off towards her. Do I have her this time? I think I do…Why am I closer to the sky than usual? I wince when my back hits the solid ground. "Mikasa…I think I'm going to have a bruise back there." I whine trying to pick myself up. She looks away from me and off to the side.

"Eren…" She mutters.

I look to where her eyes are staring and blink. Eren's body is bent in a weird angle and it looks as if he ate dirt. I pick myself up from the ground and toss the dagger back to Mikasa. She catches it with ease and stares at me.

"I'm going to go check if Eren's okay, okay?" I question already walking off. She turns away from me and searches for another partner. I reach Eren and crouch down in front of him.

"Did you see that?" He sounds nervous.

"Everyone did." I grab his ankles and throw them up. "Better?" He only sighs and stares at Reiner who's now pit up against Annie.

"He's not going to win." Eren says with a smirk. He already lifted himself up and is on his foot that wasn't kicked. The second after he let those words out, Reiner is on the same spot as Eren when he fell.

"Yeah Annie you beat two guys." I say happily while clapping. Eren and Reiner stare at me with wide eyes. "I wish I was as good as you." This time I grab Reiner's ankles and while I flip him over, I pick myself up as well. I hold Eren's dagger and approach her.

"Would you like to end up like them as well?" She asks getting into her fighting stance.

"Well if it will help me in discipline." She's about ready to launch at me but I interrupt. "And because I haven't had any interaction with you this whole day." I smile gleefully.

It looked as if she was surprised by my answer. Even if it was just for a second, her eyes were wide and her form loosened. She rushes at me with great speed and all I have time for is a quick hop to the right when she kicks. I clench the dagger in my hand and force it towards her chest. It's not as easy as I thought when she suddenly sweeps me with her left leg and grabs my wrist holding the dagger. She reaches for it and holds it by her side. I notice that she's still holding my wrist and preventing my fall. As I'm about to question her if she's going to let me fall or not, she pulls me forward and positions the dagger at my neck.

"Had fun?" She questions annoyed.

"Very!" She merely sighs at my reply and tosses the dagger back to Eren. I walk off towards Reiner as Eren approaches her asking for a rematch.

"Woah what was that?" I look up at him through my bangs.

"What was what?" I question confused.

"She didn't drop you on your ass like she did to us."

"I've tried my best at being friends with her." I shrug and play with the green ribbons in my hair.

"Friends…With Annie?" He looks as if he's about to laugh and I just stomp my foot at him. "Good luck with that. You're gonna need it." He swats one of my ponytails and finally lets out his loud laugh.

"You're lucky the instructor's busy with Connie." He ignores my half hearted reply and continues laughing.

**Dinner **

"Armin this soup is delicious but it will never compare to yours." I place my hand atop his and watch him as his cheeks begin to turn a light pink.

"A-ah well the reason for that-"

A loud clank interrupts him.

"She's just trying to get the rest of your soup Armin." I retract my hand from Armin and stare at Eren with bright eyes.

"Eren you know you're going to be the best Titan slayer out there." He stares at me with an annoyed expression before ripping off a half of his bread.

"And the rest of my bread." I smile at him and feel eyes on me. Turning my head I see Jean staring at us and before I could reach my hand up to wave he roughly turns away.

"Mikasa," I whisper. "Why's he looking at his friends like that?"

"Friends?" She seems confused by my question and I can't help but prod.

"Yes friends. You know like Eren, you, Armin and me?" I'm too occupied with trying to get Mikasa to understand that Jean is our friend but the sudden screeching of a chair and yell causes me to turn away.

"You piece of shit!" Eren yells angrily at Jean.

"Eren wha-"

"Shut up! This is reality!" Jean yells back.

They begin to get in each other's faces and continue yelling from there.

"Eren stop!" They don't listen to Armin.

I stand up and stare at the both of them.

"Stop." Mikasa walks over to Eren and pulls his hand off of Jean. Eren stares at the ground as his way of apologizing.

"Screw you!" Jean pulls Eren by his shirt.

"Jean!" I yell at his action.

"Let go! My clothes will rip!" Eren yells again.

"Who cares about your clothes?! I'm so envious!" Jean yells back.

"Mikasa why won't they stop?!" I noticed my voice had gotten louder. "Armin I'm a go ahead and sit by you."

He nods before trying to get Eren to stop again.

I decided to take a look around the room and that's when I noticed everyone's different faces. Some were amused like Reiner. Some were confused like Sasha. Some were downright worried like Christa. Others were merely curious about the outcome like Annie. I notice her eyes go wide and so I turn my head to see what had happened. Jean is on the floor while Eren is standing above him.

"What the hell was that?" he questions angrily.

"The martial arts I went through a world of hurt to learn while you were messing around." Eren responds coolly. "You think taking the easy way out, doing as you please is reality? And you can call yourself a soldier?"

Complete silence is what there is after Eren finishes. That was very intense.

Suddenly the door creeks open.

"I heard quite a commotion. Would someone like to explain?" I feel a shiver go down my spine at the instructor's chilling voice.

Eren slowly sits down beside Mikasa while Jean squeezes in next to Armin and me. I move closer to Armin and let Jean have his space.

"That sound was Sasha's fart." Mikasa says with a raised hand.

I hide my head in Armin's shoulder and try my best at not making a sound.

"You again? Learn to control yourself." He says before walking out.

My right hand clenches Armin's shoulder for a few seconds before I finally lift my head away from him.

"That was completely uncalled for." I snicker while rubbing my eyes.

"It was a good explanation though." Armin says with a smile.

"It sure was." I lay my head on the wooden table and stretch my arms across it. "So Jean why are you sitting over here I mean you never sit over here."

His eyes shift over to me but his teeth are bared at Eren.

"Wasn't it obvious? So I wouldn't get head butted again." He said with an angry voice.

"So you wouldn't get head butted?" Eren waves his hand at him. "How do you expect to join the Military Police if you can't even handle a single head butt?" He smirks at Jean.

"Eren stop trying to provoke him." I drawl out.

"Shut up and go to sleep. We have a big day tomorrow and take Mikasa with you." Eren once again waves but at me.

"Fine but if you're not gonna eat that," I point at the other half of the loaf. "Mind handing it to me?" I question while sliding out from the bench.

Eren tosses me the bread and begins to have a hushed argument with Jean. By the time I'm at the door, Mikasa's making her way outside. I turn back to the table and notice Sasha waving with the loaf of Mikasa's bread hanging from her mouth. I wave back at both her and Eren.

"Don't be mean to Jean. Armin don't let them get into trouble either." I slam the door and follow after Mikasa.

**Dining Hall**

"She like me or something? Don't be mean to Jean ha." Jean laughs.

"Don't flatter yourself. She says the same thing to everyone else." Eren says with annoyance.

"Can you both stop trying to fight over everything?" Armin tries to calm the situation down.

"Fight? I'm just speaking the truth. Has she ever told someone not to be mean to you?" Eren questions with bored eyes.

"Well…She has but-"

Armin's suddenly interrupted.

"Are we talking about Eudocia?" Sasha raises her right hand.

"If you're counting yourself then no." Jean brushes her off.

"Because she's a nice girl. She gave me her bead the other day." She says with a smile and stares straight at the three.

The trio stares at her with confusion and deadpan looks. She judges people on if they give her food or not?!

**Next Day**

_In the end, two hundred and nineteen trainees managed to hang on till graduation. _

"Dedicate your hearts!" One of the instructors yell. "Today, you trainee graduates will be given three choices. You can join the Garrison, protecting towns and reinforcing the walls. Or the Survey Corps who risk their lives beyond the walls, in titan Territory."

He takes a breath.

"Or the Military Police, who serve the king, lead the people, and protect internal order. Of course, only the top ten students, whose names were just announced can join the Military Police." He finishes.

One thought goes through one teen's head.

_I finally made it this far. Now it's our turn to devour the Titans!_

**Night Time**

"Is there a reason why you gave up your position in the top ten?" I chug the remains of my milk at Armin's question.

"Because I'm joining the Survey Corps." I answer as I wipe the milk mustache off my upper lip.

"And?" I place the glass atop a nearby table before answering Armin again.

"It wouldn't be fair to someone who wants to join the Military Police but can't because they're not in the top ten." It's true. I say if you don't want something give it to someone else who won't throw it away.

"If they really wanted to join the Military Police, they should've tried harder." Eren comments annoyed.

I remain quiet and only sigh.

"You seriously aren't joining the Military Police, Eren? You did all that work to make the top ten." Tomas asks bewildered at Eren's choice.

"I'd already decided when I began. I wasn't training to live in the interior. I was training to fight Titans." Eren answers.

"You'll never beat them!" Tomas shouts which makes everyone turn around and face us. "You do know how many tens of thousands have been eaten? We lost over twenty percent of our population so we know for sure. Humans cannot defeat Titans." He finishes and lowers his head.

I feel my hands turn into fists at his words.

"So? If you think we can't win, you'll just give up?" Eren replies with furrowed brows.

"Well…" Tomas mutters.

"It's true that humanity has only suffered until now. But we didn't know anything about the Titans then. Fighting them head on is pointless. We did lose, but the information we gained gives us hope for next time! Will we abandon the tactics that cost tens of thousands of lives to develop, and let the Titans eat us without a fight? Hell no! I am going to exterminate all of the Titans, and escape these cramped walls! That is my dream…Humanity isn't finished yet!" He finishes with a raised voice.

Everyone is in shock at what he just said and don't even notice the tears threatening to spill from his eyes. I lift my hand to lay it on his shoulder but he runs off. Mikasa, Armin, and I run off to follow him. We found him sitting on the stairs wiping his tears. I take a seat on his side while Armin and Mikasa sit around him.

"Eren, when you were talking about your dream…" Armin starts.

"Yeah, I got that from you. To live outside the walls, not inside." Eren answers.

Armin rubbed off on everyone and I really don't mind. He's a great boy and he'll always be the smartest out of the three of us whether he likes it or not.

"I'm joining the Survey Corps." He says with bravery.

His words make my eyes widen.

"Are you serious, Armin? You got the best written test score, so you should use that!" Eren tries to change his mind.

"I won't hold you back, even if it kills me." Armin's hell bent on joining the Survey Corps.

"I'm joining the Survey Corps, too." Mikasa joins in.

"Hey, you're the valedictorian! Join the Military Police!" Eren once again tries to change her mind.

"If you join the Military Police, then I'll do that. If you join the Garrison, I'll join, too. You'll send yourself to an early grave without me." Mikasa finishes.

"I'll be joining whatever you all join. Aside from Military Police because I'm not in the top ten so then I would have to join what Armin joins. So yes I'm joining the Survey Corps too." I rest my head atop my knees.

"No one asked you to do this…" Eren rubs his head.

"I don't want to lose any more family." Mikasa whispers.

We all turn to look up at the night sky and that's when I notice how beautiful it is. Stars are littered about and a flash of light zooms across the sky. Shooting stars really are something.

**Early Next Morning**

"They're here! The main force of the Survey Corps!" A civilian shouts at the group. "Commander Irvin, kill the Titans for us!" He shouts at the blond male on the horse.

"Look, it's Captain Levi!" Another one shouts. "They say he's as strong as an entire brigade."

We turn our heads to stare at Levi and he looks really annoyed for some reason.

"This is totally different than five years ago…There are so many people who have high hopes for the Survey Corps!" Eren says with awe.

"We're going to be like that someday." I say with a big smile.

"Everyone's cheered up. There haven't been any problems for five years." We all turn and see both Hannah and Franz standing.

"And they've improved the fixed cannons. Maybe the big Titans won't come again." Franz said with a smile and Hannah agreeing.

"You can't seriously believe that, you stupid lovebirds!" Eren disagrees.

"Eren." I rub my cheek and wave at the lovebirds.

"You think we're a happy couple?" Hannah faces the other way to hide her blushing face.

"You're getting ahead of yourself, Eren!" Franz is blushing as well.

Eren's form is shaking either with annoyance or anger. Probably both because he doesn't have a love.

"Hey you guys!" I recognize that voice!

"Hannes!" Smiles lit up on our faces.

"I heard you graduated yesterday. Hard to believe you're the little kids I remember." He comments surprised.

"What about you? You've gone from a drunk to the captain of the combat engineers." Eren's comment made me laugh.

"Listen to you…" He pokes Eren's forehead. "I'm still sorry I wasn't able to save your mother." He apologizes sincerely.

"It wasn't your fault Hannes. We aren't ignorant anymore. I'll never let anything that sad happen again. We will defeat the Titans." Eren said with a determined look.

Defeating the Titans isn't going to be a simple job but with the four of us I'm sure we'll pull through.

**Inside the walls**

"Say Armin where did Mikasa and Eren run off to?" I ask with my arms crossed behind my back.

"Eren was assigned to clean the cannons and Mikasa is probably watching him." Armin replies.

"So we don't have anything to do?"

"Nope."

I raise a hand to my heart and let out a sigh.

"Thank goodness. We haven't had an easy going day for so long." I notice that Armin stopped in his tracks.

"Armin what are you staring at?" I follow his gaze and see a dark figure atop the wall. If that's Eren…How come he's not working?

"You think we'll be able to defeat the Titans? Like Eren said." Armin's question lingers in my head for merely a second before I answer.

"We will! I'm sure of it!" I see the ends of my light orange ribbons sway because of the sudden wind.

The skies darken for a second and that's when we see it. We see what we thought…Imagined was gone for five years. The 60 meters tall skin less Titan is here again. Our first Titan battle is going to be today.

"Armin it's going," I gulp and loosen the shirt collar around my neck. "It's going to attack today isn't it?"

He's too stunned to move as if he's paralyzed.

Is this really our first battle?

_The Colossal Titan?_

* * *

**A/N**

**Not much to say aside from thank you and sorry for any mistakes. I'll probably edit this tomorrow but I'm going to get some sleep. I have my Chinese singing project tomorrow and it's going to be a mess. Ahaha well once again thanks for reading and I really appreciate your reviews, favorites, and follows. I'm trying my best at correcting my grammar and such but it will take a while. Have a nice night and/or day! Sorry for any mistakes you find!**

**Inspirational Song – Highest life**

**Peformed by - LiSA**


	5. Where It Begins

**Hey everyone! ^ ^ Just wanted to say thanks again : ] I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

"You trainees have all passed the final training exercise, and now are full-fledged soldiers." The commander shouted at the paranoid scouts running around.

We're soldiers? I'm a soldier?

"Wasn't I just a kid yesterday?" I stare at my shivering hands. I'm going to fight? Can't I just be evacuated like five years ago? Oh wait….That's right. I'm a soldier now. I give my heart to the people and protect them with all I have.

"Are you okay?" A soft voice questions.

Who is it? Is it my friend? My brother…No wait that's not right.

_He's gone._

"Eudocia?" The mysterious voice continues.

Whoever it is they know my name. It has to be someone I know.

_Who do I know?_

I feel my stomach churn at the sudden turn of my body.

"Misaka?" I notice her concerned eyes immediately.

"Are you okay?" She questions once more not removing her hand from my shoulder.

"I-I," I feel something choking me and I notice it's my shirt. I unbutton the first one. "I don't know."

She looks…Stern. Or is she confused?

"You're fine. Nothing will happen. Stay calm." She removes her hand from my shoulder and proceeds to tighten my ribbons.

"Thanks Mikasa. You always know what to say." I whisper.

She freezes for a second before moving her hands to my face. I feel her fingers softly rub the tears that managed to escape from my eyes.

"Are you full?" She asks.

What is she talking about? I dig in my mind for the answer and subconsciously reach for my leg. I feel something. The 3DMG?

"I think." I answer quizzically.

She moves away from me and comes back with the gas. She fills up both of my tanks before placing them where they were.

"Thank you Mikasa. I can't believe I didn't even have half." I say with shame. If I had gone out with that…I most likely would've been devoured.

"You'll be fine." She says with a smooth voice.

"Okay." I instantly hug her and squeeze her shoulders for a good five seconds. "Be careful." I mutter into her shoulder.

_Please make it._

* * *

**_Time Skip_**

"Just follow your training! Split into groups! Under the Garrison's orders, you will resupply combatants, relay orders, and kill Titans! Garrison intercept forces will form the vanguard! Trainees, led by the supply team, will compromise the middle guard! The Garrison's elite forces will form the rear guard. Also, messengers report that the advance team has been neutralized." The commander shouts at all the trainees.

They've been neutralized? They were completely wiped out? I notice the other trainees are shocked as well.

"The outer gate has been compromised, and Titans have entered the city. In other words, the armored Titan may appear at any time, to destroy the inner gate!" He shouts at us.

"No way."

"You've gotta be kidding."

"If we lose Rose too…" Whispers of astonishment and fear were heard.

"Silence! As we speak, the Vanguard is engaging them. We have but one objective in this fight: to defend Wall Rose with our lives until the evacuation is complete!"

That means we really are going to fight. My fist begins to go numb because of how tight I'm squeezing it.

"Also, as you all are surely aware, desertion in the face of an enemy is punishable by death. Mark this well, and fight to your last dying breath!" He continues.

I bet some people were going to try and hide.

"Dismissed!" He finishes.

"Yes, sir!" Everyone yells and runs off to find their group.

"I should probably find mine." I mutter tiredly.

Questions begin reeling in my head. Some have to do with 'why did I sign up for this'?

"For Mikasa, Armin, and Eren." I whisper to myself. If I hadn't met them would I still be in the town? If Armin hadn't convinced me of my brother being alive then would I have stayed and died? If Eren never came in time to save both Armin and I, would I have been left with scars or even unrecognizable? Mikasa. If I hadn't met her…Would I still be who I am today? If I had never met them…Where would I be?

"Hey…You're in the way." A voice mutters.

I open my eyes which I didn't even know were closed. I remove my hands from my face and notice the water that had been running down them. Looking down at the cement beneath me, I notice multiple dark gray spots. They were my tears. I rub my eyes anxiously before looking up at who was calling me.

"I'm sorry." I stand up from my hunched over position and before I get the chance to turn and walk away, a hand pulls me back.

"Where are you going? You're in my group." I recognize that monotone voice.

"Annie?" I question. Why am I in her group of all people?

"You're with Reiner, Bertholdt, and me-" She suddenly stops.

I incline my head signaling her to continue.

"Stop crying. You won't die today." She finishes with crossed arms.

"How do you know that?" I feel my mouth quiver while waiting for an answer.

"Because when you're in my group, no blood is spilt." Her voice is calm this time.

I scratch my neck and manage a smile.

"Besides, I won't…"Annie whispers.

"What was that? I couldn't hear you." I incline my head towards her direction waiting for her to finish.

She shakes her head before turning and walking off ahead of me.

I follow after her and begin to look around. I wave at Mikasa and she merely nods her head before walking off. From the corner of my eye, I see a familiar green eyed teen and wave at him too. He gives me a smile and fierce face. All I need is the blond now and there he is! I lift my hand to wave and he watches before waving back. Finally someone had the strength to wave. My hand suddenly feels warm and a stinging pain is what I feel for half a second.

"Hey! Great to see you again." Reiner's loud voice exclaims.

"Yah you too." I reply with a smile. I pull my hand back to my side and begin to massage it with my thumb.

"Hey." Bertholdt's voice floats in. Is he nervous or what because he's sweating a bit.

"Are you okay?" I ask him, sincere laced in my voice.

He wipes the drops of sweat that accumulated off his face.

"Yeah." He nods his head as if he's trying to apologize for making me worry.

Smiling nervously, I turn to a position where I can face the trio.

"What exactly are we going to do?" I intertwine my fingers and look down.

"Kill some Titans!" Reiner yells with…Eager in his voice?

"Yeah but don't we have a plan?" I question with anxiety.

"Plans fall in the midst of battle. It would be wise for you to dodge them if you can." Annie answers coolly.

My hand goes up to my fast beating heart and I take a breath to slow it down. It will be fine. I won't die. I'll make it back to everyone else. I flinch at the sudden hand that's on my shoulder.

"You ready?" Reiner questions.

I nod with furrowed brows and a wavering smirk. Boy what am I in for?

"Let's go." He begins to walk off with us trailing behind him.

I crack my fingers and neck before fixing the collar of my shirt. This is it.

_This is where it begins._

* * *

**Trost District (Left Side)**

"Ribbons, Bertholdt and I will handle that 5 meter class." Reiner raises his sword towards the 5 meter in the small alley. We're standing atop one of the many tan rooftops observing the closest Titans. The 5 meter doesn't seem to know where it's going and looks as if it's lost. Maybe it's waiting for one of the trainees to swing by so it could catch them. If that's the case, we'd better kill it before it gets what it wants.

"Annie," He pauses and turns towards her. "Think you can take down that 4 meter class alone?" Reiner questions her. She tightens her hold on her swords and begins to stare her target down. Though it isn't paying attention to us, who knows when it will?

"Annie if you need me to distract it-"

"That won't be necessary." She interrupts still staring at the Titan. I give up on trying to offer her my help and instead turn back to the other two.

"So what exactly will I be doing?" I notice their worried faces instantly and raise a brow. "What did you have planned?" My voice suddenly went up an octave. I silently curse myself for that horrible noise. Thankfully, none had noticed it or rather they chose to ignore it.

"You'll be," Reiner pauses for a moment and looks away. "The distraction." He finishes.

"Wait so why am I the distraction?" Swiftly picking up my right leg; I point my foot towards me. I place my foot back down because it sure is tiring keeping your leg up. "Well?" I loosen my hold on the swords and lean my head forward.

"Your ribbons," Bertholdt starts which makes us all turn to face him. With the exception of Annie who shifts her eyes. "They're orange." He points his right sword towards me.

"So?" I flinch back from the sharp object pointed at my face.

"Those bright colors will be sure to catch their attention." Reiner joins in again.

I let the answer float in my head for a bit.

"Alright." I sigh before placing the blades back in the compartments of the 3DMG. "I'll be swinging around it so there's no need for these, right?" I slap the side of the 3DMG with the empty sword handle.

"Right. Just be sure to act quickly if it somehow gets a hold of you." Reiner tells me.

"That would be your guy's job." I answer him. Just be sure to act quickly huh? I'll be sure to slice its dirty fingers clean off if you both are slow.

"Here we go, Annie!" He shouts at her and she flies off the roof at incredible speed towards her target. I watch in awe at how well she can use her 3DMG. "Ribbons!"

I nod at the both of them before running and leaping off the roof. Latching my hook onto a bridge, I swing under it at immense speed before finally reaching the Titan's legs. Its eyes shift towards me and that's when I look side to side for something I can hook onto. My eyes catch sight of a nearby pillar. If I swing around that then I'll be able to have it completely focused on me.

"Hey Titan over here!" I shout before dodging its open palm. I feel a drop of sweat run down the side of my face. As I'm swinging around the tower, I take in its appearance. Small head, veins are completely seeable, and his oversized stomach makes it look as if it's pregnant. My eyes widen at the length of its right arm. Why is it longer than the left?! I try my best to swing around it and I manage to get one of my wires wrapped around its wrist.

_Yes! _I mentally scream in my shocked mind.

Now I just need to swing back towards it and slice it off. I make a U-Turn and connect the handle to one of the many swords before bringing it up and swinging right by it. Thank goodness this Titan is slow or else my back would've collided with the cement wall.

"Stay still!" I yell and slice it clean off. I roll and land on one knee. I can't move because I need the arm to dissolve. My wire…It's wrapped too tightly for me to even move it. Before I know it, the Titan is already on the ground beneath me. "Reiner, Bertholdt!" I exclaim with joy at their sudden appearance. They land on the roof above me unsheathed and give me smiles. I notice my wire had retracted back into its compartment and that's when I know I can meet back with them. Turning my head I see Annie not too many roofs behind me so I decide to wait for her. She jumps the final roof before finally standing in front of me. "Alright let's-"

"Don't make a sound." Annie interrupts with her hand suddenly above my mouth.

Nodding at her request with surprised eyes, I turn my head and see both Reiner and Bertholdt staring down between the two roofs. What is it? What's there? I listen closely to try to find some sort of answer but all I could hear is both of us breathing. How much time has passed a minute? Five even?

"Go." She leaps off the roof and reaches high ground with me right behind her. Unlike her however, I roll and land on my palms.

"What was it?" I spit out the vile air that had ended up in my mouth before standing up.

"It was a 7 meter class. The leaping Titan." Bertholdt answers turning to face us.

"What?" I question confused about his answer.

"In other words, the frog Titan. It can jump up at least three times its height and has an extremely large mouth." Reiner's serious voice makes it clear to me. I raise a hand to my head and run it through my bangs.

"So we can't fight it from above because we most likely would've been swallowed or risk having our limb bitten off?" Reiner nods at my question. That would've been a bad idea if I had decided to suddenly swing across. My hand instinctively goes up to my dress shirt to unbutton one more.

"What do we do now Reiner? This area seems to be completely clean of Titans." Bertholdt asks whilst wiping his forehead.

"Our mission's not over. With the amount of gas we still have, we should be able to take down those 2 five meter classes over there." He points two roofs over at the mindless Titans who seem to be looking down for some unexplained reason.

"Am I the distraction again?" I say exasperatedly. "Because that was a close call back there." My eyes lock on to his. He only chuckles at my question. "Annie." I rest my forehead on her stiff shoulder.

"Just do what you did before." Her stoic expression and emotionless voice is what somehow pumps me up.

"Got it!" My hands turn into fists and I turn to face the Titans. I thought it would be scary fighting the Titans but it isn't. I really hope everyone else is doing fine though.

"Let's go kick some Titan ass!" Reiner exclaims speeding off ahead of us.

"Wait for us! You're gonna need the distraction!" I smirk and glide through the air. Annie takes on one of the Titans and strikes its neck; instantly killing it. I follow her way of swinging and this time I manage to latch onto its shoulder and swing behind it. As it's turning to face me, Bertholdt slices its left arm and Reiner manages to slice its neck before it regenerates.

They land on the roof beside Annie and me. I'd say we did pretty well for our first Titan battle. I raise my hand and Reiner slaps it and this time I smile not caring even the slightest about the pain. My hand rises to slap Bertholdt's shoulder in a friendly way. That's when I remember about Annie. I walk over and give her a hug.

"Thanks Annie. You're the best." I say sincerely. She doesn't hug me back but at least she's gotten used to me hugging her now.

"Never mind that. I'm just doing what I was assigned." Her voice is once again motionless.

Sighing, I unlatch myself from her and turn to look up at the sky.

"It looks like it's going to-" My voice is interrupted by something.

"AAAAAHHHHHH!" Not just something but someone. That someone is **ARMIN!**

"You guys that was Armin wasn't it?!" I ask frantically. They don't have time to answer my question before I drop my dull swords and pull out new ones. "We need to go. Now!"

"What if we're too late?"

"We aren't! He's still there and he needs our help!" Before I have the chance to jump to the other roof, a hand pulls me back. It's Annie's.

"Are you sure that's Armin? What if it isn't-"

"So what if it isn't?! Whoever it is, they're still our comrade and we have to help them!" Annie's hand softens a bit.

"But…Ribbons," I turn to face Reiner. Anger completely taking over my face.

"What?!" I question angrily.

"Screams were heard the whole time we were fighting the Titans." His eyes are downcast and I stare at him in amazement.

"What that can't be…You are lying right?" I question nearly laughing.

No one says anything.

"But that can't be. I have good hearing skills I would've- "

"You could've heard them but you didn't. You ignored them in favor of your friends. Just like we did." Annie removes her hand from my shoulder to rest at her side instead.

"So this whole time," Reiner nods. "I've blocked them out?" My eyes dart to Bertholdt who nods as well. "All for my friends?" They soon drift towards Annie who nods as well.

I stay still for a minute before deciding on what to do. Tightening the ribbons in my hair I tighten my hold on the handles.

"It doesn't matter now. All that matters is helping Armin." I walk till I reach the edge of the roof. "Are you all coming?"

A second passes before they reach the edge as well. I nod and that's when we jump. Armin we're coming for you.

_Please be safe_

…

* * *

**A/N**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter and sorry if any characters seem OOC. Sorry for any mistakes you may find and I hope you have a great day and/or night! I'll be working on the bonus chapter in a bit so be excited for that if you want. Bye! O w O )/**

**Inspirational Song – The opening song to a kid's show, I really don't want to say… Fine its Ben 10. My brother got that song stuck in my head so I've been hearing it every day. I apologize and have an awesome day/night everyone!**


	6. Imagine If (Bonus)

**So here is the bonus chapter I've been talking about. Sorry if it isn't funny or to your liking but I always wonder what would happen if this were real. Bonus Chapter Start! ^ o ^ )**

* * *

_**Imagine If Modern Music Existed?**_

* * *

"Pon pon way way way pon pon way pon way pon pon," There's a small bounce in my step while I'm walking. "Way way-"

"Would you knock it off?! You've been singing that damn song for hours now." Eren screamed into my ear.

"Ah I'm sorry. Was I annoying you?" I ask teasingly. My pink ribbons swishing from side to side as I circled him. I couldn't help wide grin appearing on my face.

"Cia I think its best you stop. You have been singing that tune for about 2 hours." Armin put his two hands up nervously. He is such a peace maker.

"Not you too Armin." I sigh dejectedly and lay down on the cool floor.

"Great what's she doing now?" Eren asks exasperated. He probably had his arms crossed but I can't see because I'm facing the cement.

"It's just that it's really hot and why do they have us in charge of cleaning the cannons? Isn't that the MP's job?" I whine into the floor.

"The faster we get this done, the sooner we could go back into the shade. "d He says annoyed. I tilt my head and watch as Eren goes back to wiping the side of the cannon. It's beginning to look shiny but what's the point? It's just going to get dirty again.

"Cia." Mikasa's smooth voice floats through my ears. "Get back to work."

"But I don't wanna." I pound the cement beneath me with my fists. "It's too hot and-"

"You think we do?" I hear footsteps to the left of me and I suddenly find myself in the air. I look into the green eyes of Eren. He sure has a tight hold on my jacket. "If you just help than maybe we can get this done faster." He roughly shakes me. I slap my cheeks with my hands and pull down.

"Fine." I drawl the word out. I lazily outstretch my arms to reach for his head but they are too short. "Just let me down." I begin rocking myself back and forth. My arms flailing about while the other squads just seemed to stare.

He drops me and I manage to land on the heels of my feet. I brush the dust that decided to stick onto my jacket off. Picking up one of the white cloths with brown smudges, I walk over to Mikasa and begin scrubbing.

"Every day pon." I begin with a whisper. My eyes shift from left to right looking to see if anyone had heard me. Mikasa hadn't changed from her spot and Eren was too busy trying to wipe off this black spot. I don't think it will come off though. Armin was cleaning on the opposite side of me and I don't think he heard me so I'll just continue. "Every time is pon. Let's take a ride on this merry go round." At this moment my hips are shaking to the beat in my head and so is my hand.

**Eren's POV**

Why does she insist on singing that same annoying song over and over? It's not even that good in my opinion. That song is just as annoying as this black smudge that doesn't want to come off.

"What's she doing?"

"Is she actually dancing?"

"The hell is she trying to pull?"

"What is she even dancing too?"

"That's considered dancing?"

Huh what is everyone talking about? Carrying the cloth with me, I walk around the canon and see something that I never wanted to see in my life. Eudocia is just shaking her hips from left to right while her hands are swinging from side to side.

I angrily clench the cloth and walk over to stand behind her.

"Pon Pon way way way-"

"Hey hey what the hell are you trying to pull?!" My shout is the only thing you hear while the wind blows.

She turns rigid and can't even turn to face me.

"Did you know that everyone was staring?" I whisper annoyingly.

She doesn't have time to say anything.

"I thought I told you to get to work and to stop singing that crap?" I ask with a glint in my eye.

"Yeah but you know…I cleaned the cannon. Ahaha…Ha look." She moves out of the way and holds her arms out.

It's shiny and you can almost see your own reflection in it. The sun decides to be a jerk and once it's in the right spot, a blinding light comes into my vision. My hands go up to my eyes and the cloth is on the floor.

"What's wrong Eren? Are you hurt?" Mikasa asks with concern.

"Eren are you alright?" Armin questions next.

"Yeah it's just-"

"It's just that my cannon shines bright like a diamond." She says cockily.

"Don't even start." I move my hand from my eye to give her a death glare.

"It's beautiful like diamonds in the-"

"You have 20 more to go. Get to it or you won't be singing any more songs for a while." I say while picking up the forgotten cloth. I look up and watch as she walks off dejectedly to the next cannon.

"I'll go help her too." Armin says before running off.

"Mikasa are you done?" I look at her and noticing how close she was too me, I stepped a few steps back.

"I've been done but I needed to make sure you didn't injure yourself in any way." Her voice is so serious that I can't even go against her reason.

"Let's just leave this to someone else and help them out." I rub the sweat that's on my neck for a bit before walking off. Mikasa follows soon after.

**Eudocia's POV**

"Armin I'm blue! Da ba dee da be da." I shake Armin by the shoulders. He tries to grab my hands but I'm shaking him a bit too roughly.

"Cia you can….Stop now." His voice wavers because of the shaking.

I feel the back of my jacket being pulled and that's when I notice Eren. He sure has a tight hold on me.

"Why can't you stop already?" He questions while rubbing his forehead. Mikasa is standing beside him with nothing to do.

"I don't even know...Maybe it's because the temperature is rising up, up so hot.

"Cia-"

"Cause I'm burning up! Pyromania~" I shout with all my might.

"Shut the radio off!" Jean suddenly yells from the left side.

"There's a…Radio?" Eren asks.

I gulp and try to run off only to be caught by Mikasa. Eren slips his hand into my jacket and finds a washed up black block the size of his hand.

"You mind giving it back to me?" I ask with a wavering voice. He only stares at the radio, me, and finally chucks it behind him. I can only stare with an open mouth and wide eyes.

"Now we don't have to hear your harmful singing anymore." He says with a smile.

"Bu-bu-bu-bu-"

"Now back to work." He walks on ahead of us towards Reiner's location.

Mikasa pulls me along while Armin tries to make me feel better by saying how he's going to get me another one for my birthday. I can't wait 7 months that's too long and I'll be bored.

"Hey Reiner." Eren gives him a high five.

I watch them interact happily. Wiggling myself out of my jacket, I walk over to Bertholdt.

"Hey Bert-"

Wait…I hear something. Is that…Is that a?

I look to my left and that's when I see it. A radio is just casually playing music.

"Reiner no." I hear Eren groan before slapping his forehead.

"She sure is a troublemaker." I hear Reiner laugh.

"Reiner!" Eren shouts.

"What?" He questions confused.

"Why does it feel so good but hurt so bad~" I begin to sing.

**Eren's POV**

"Not again." I whisper running a hand through my wet hair.. "Now we'll never get anything done."

"Wait look Eren!" Armin shouts pointing a finger towards Cia's direction. "She's nearly finished with that one and she just started." He sounds amazed at how fast she could work.

We watch as she jumps from cannon to cannon without a care in the world.

"It's only fair right?" I say while rubbing my head.

"What is?" Reiner questions me.

"That we listen to her horrible singing and she cleans up everything." I finish with a grin.

"An eye for an eye?" Armin asks while scratching his cheek.

"Yeah…An eye for an eye."

* * *

**A/N**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'm sorry for any mistakes you find! So if modern music existed, so did radios. Oh and the next chapter should be uploaded by this Saturday or Sunday so stay tuned! Thanks reviewers, followers, and for adding this story to your favorite stories list. I hope you all have a nice and /or night! **

**Inspirational songs – PonPonPon, Diamonds, I'm Blue, Pyromania, and Troublemaker**

**Performed by – Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, Rihanna, Eiffel 65, and Olly Murs **

**Thanks for reading! ^ o ^ )/**


	7. The Battle Continues

Here is the 7th chapter and I hope you enjoy! I don't own anything ^ o ^ )/ Oh and there is one minor cuss word.

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**Cia's POV**

"Hey Armin get out of that daze." I say while shaking him.

My squad got here too late. All we found was one soldier and that soldier was Armin. Connie had gotten here earlier and was already questioning him by the time I landed.

"Why are you alone?" Connie asks him with a hand on his shoulder. He retracts his hand and begins to clench and unclench. "And what's this weird slime on you? What happened?"

Weird slime? I turn over my hand and notice something shiny running along my palm. Bending my middle finger, I slide across it and gather some onto the tip before taking a sniff of it.

"It smells horrible!" I exclaim while wiping it across the tan tiles on the roof.

Connie and I stare at Armin waiting for answer but he simply stares at the gray sky in a daze. His eyes suddenly grow wide and he jumps. His hands go up to his head as he begins to scream while ruffling his hair.

"You useless idiot!" He shouts at himself.

I reach my hand towards him but he pushes it away.

"D-die!" He screams.

"Hey calm down Armin!" Connie tries to console him but doesn't touch him because of the disgusting slime. "Where is everyone?"

"Armin answer us!" I pound the spot next to me and inch closer towards his face. All I see are his tears dripping to the floor. "Armin-"

"That's enough you guys." Ymir suddenly butts in. "They were all wiped out...All except for him."

I flinch at the realization that Eren was on his team. As my mind is remembering all our past memories… Connie is arguing with Ymir. As if this matter wasn't important at all to them.

"Ar-Armin," I gulp. "Eren…He w-was on your time right?" My eyes are as wide as Armin's now and I feel tears prickling in the corners of my eyes. "He's not dead is he?"

_What a stupid question. _

He shakily nods at my question. No that can't be right! Wasn't he going to be the one to exterminate all of the Titans? To gain back our lost land!

"What a shame that this loser survived instead of Eren and the others." Ymir says disappointedly.

"Want me to shut that mouth forever bitch?" Connie threatens her.

Ymir shouldn't be talking right now. It's not like she's been through what Armin has. At least she still has Krista! Armin on the other hand has lost one of his childhood friends.

_We lost one of our childhood friends._

I resist the urge to open my mouth and give her a piece of my mind.

"Stop it both of you! No one is thinking straight...All of our friends are dying so fast. It would freak anyone out!" Krista intervenes with her arms outstretched.

I only stare at the blonde as she tries to calm all of us down. She is then hugged by Ymir who only laughs and jokes about getting married. How can she be so carefree at a time like this?

"Anyway, we can't leave you here. Can you stand Armin?" Connie offers his hand.

I wipe my tears with the sleeves of my jacket and stand up.

"Armin we need to go now. Titans could be here any second." I rest my hand on his shoulder and that seems to wake him up. He stands up and looks at the both of us.

"S-sorry for causing trouble." He stutters while walking past us. "I'll go meet up with the rearguard." He suddenly jumps off the roof and flies away.

"Armin!" Connie and I shout at his disappearing form. I run towards the edge of the roof and as I'm about to jump off, a hand pulls me back.

"We have orders to advance." Annie says.

I spin myself around and stare at her with wide eyes.

"But Armin!" I try to argue.

"He'll be fine. Let's move." She retracts her hand and walks over to our squad.

I stare towards the direction Armin flew off in with a sad look before shaking my head and following after Annie. The atmosphere is too serious that Reiner can't even make a joke.

"There are two over there." I say softly. They only stare at me for a few seconds until Reiner speaks up.

"Bertholdt and I will handle them." He motions to the both of them. "Annie you stay with ribbons." He says before jumping off the roof with his partner.

Turning my head I notice Annie hadn't moved an inch. I really like her hair. I mean it looks really silky and it doesn't seem to get in her way while she's slicing up Titans. I also love how she doesn't cry. She's a really strong girl and I can't help but admire her. If you really think about it…Mikasa and Annie could be sisters, for they act the same. Is this my way for getting over my friend's death? I wonder why-

"Is something the matter?" Annie's smooth voice questions. She still hadn't taken her eyes off the two.

"N-no. Nothing at all." I stutter and turn my head to hide the faint blush that managed to appear on my face. Gee why do I never notice what I'm doing? I rub my forehead with my wrist. What's wrong with the weather today? It's drizzling and yet it's hot. I suddenly feel a hand on my shoulder and I notice its Annie's.

"We're moving." She says before flipping her bangs and jumping off towards Reiner and Bertholdt.

"Right…" I mutter with nothing in mind except for Armin, Mikasa, and…Eren. I can feel more tears threatening to spill because of my lost friend. I shake my head and put on a brave front because I know he doesn't like people who cry. I land on the roof beside Annie and that's when I notice 1/4th of the 104th trainees' squad bent over and crying.

"Why….What happened?" My eyes widen at what's left of our whole squad. Is this really what's left of it? Not knowing what to do, I follow after Annie who's making her way to Reiner. That's when I see Marco staring off into the distance beside Bertholdt.

"Reiner, what should we do?" I hear Annie ask him.

"Nothing yet." He cracks his neck before continuing. "If we do it, we do it all together."

So the reason we stopped isn't because we ran out of gas but because we all need to work together? What exactly are we going to do though? Feeling my hands going numb, I put the blades back inside their case along with the handle sticking out.

"It's hopeless…There's no way any of us can make it out of this town alive." Marco speaks up, sounding as if he already died. "I knew I could die…But what am I dying for?" I can feel myself grow angry at his words.

"We-"

"Mikasa! I thought you were with the rearguard." Someone yells out. I don't even care that I was interrupted because it's Mikasa.

"Annie! I have a basic idea what's happening." Mikasa says with urgency in her voice.

I step back and resist the urge to hug her. She doesn't know about Eren yet but when she does, she'll need someone beside her.

"And I'm sorry to involve my personal feelings, but did you see Eren's team?" Her question nearly makes me choke.

"I didn't see them." Annie shifts her eyes to me for a second.

_I can't tell her. _

So I turn my head and try not to meet her or Mikasa's gaze.

"But no one's gotten over the walls yet." She finishes; staring back at Mikasa.

"Actually, Armin's over there." Reiner motions towards Armin who's all alone with his head down. Before she makes a move to approach him, she stares at me.

"Cia, do you know anything?" She sounds genuinely concerned. That's when I remember that this is Eren we're talking about.

"No. I'm sorry." She stares at me for a second longer before running off towards Armin.

"You know don't you?" I try my best to ignore Annie. "Why didn't you tell her?"

"Because…as her friend I didn't want to be the one to put her through that pain." I can feel my voice waver and body shiver.

"As a friend? You're a soldier aren't you?" Annie questions me.

"Ye-yes! I am a soldier how could you-"

"Then you should be the one to tell her."

"Me? What are-"

"It's fairly obvious how much you adore her. Anyone could see it." Her eyes drift up to the gray sky above.

"I honestly don't know what you're trying to say." She turns and stares up at me. The coldness is her light blue eyes make me take a step back.

"As a soldier you should be the one to tell her." She takes a step closer I take a step back. "But as a friend, you should be the one to console her."

That's right. I can be both-no, I've been both. A soldier and a close friend. Grabbing onto her shoulders, I give them a squeeze before taking off after Mikasa.

"Thomas Wagner!" Armin screams.

_The countdown begins_

"Nack Tias!"

Come on legs don't give up on me now! I mentally shout at myself while jumping a roof.

"Milius Zermusky!"

Armin…you knew all of them didn't you? I run past Jean and shove Connie by accident.

"Hey!" I pay no attention to his shouting.

"Mina Carolina!"

Mina died too? I feel my legs go wobbly but I push myself forward.

"Eren Jaeger!" He finishes with a loud shout.

"Mikasa!" She only has enough time to turn before I latch onto her. "Mikasa…" I mumble deep into her jacket.

"I'm sorry Mikasa." Armin whispers while crying. "He sacrificed himself for me."

Mikasa crouches down and doesn't try to shove me off. Instead she…she rubs my back absentmindedly.

"I couldn't do anything." He cries once more.

Turning my head to the side, I see everyone is staring at us. Either with shock, pity, or just plain fright...They don't look away.

"Armin calm down." Mikasa says in a surprisingly calm voice.

"Mikasa?" Looking up at her I notice how dull her eyes had gotten. As if she's hollow on the inside.

"This isn't the time to get emotional." She completely ignores me and continues speaking. "You both stand up."

Pulling myself off, I stood up at her request. I stand beside Armin drying my tears with my sleeves.

"Marco, if we eliminate the Titans swarming HQ, then we can refuel and climb the walls. Isn't that right?" Mikasa doesn't sound affected at all about Eren's death.

I look up at Armin and proceed to rub his tears away.

"Thank you…"He mumbles.

I only nod my head at him before paying attention to Mikasa.

"That's right, but…But even with you here there are too many…" Marco suddenly trails off as if he's afraid of Mikasa.

"I can do it." She turns to glare at him.

"Huh?" He's as surprised as I am.

"I am strong!" She lifts up her sword and points towards the dark sky above. "Stronger than you guys. Very strong. Therefore, I can defeat those Titans! Even on my own." Her eyes meet everyone's gaze. "You are not only weak, but you are spineless cowards." She points her sword at us. "I am disappointed in you. Just stay here…Stay here and watch."

"Hey, Mikasa what are you saying!"

"You're going to fight the Titans all by yourself?!"

"There's no way you can do that!"

People began to shout at her all at once. I really wanted to defend her but there are too many Titans for just her alone.

"If I can't, I'll die. " She stares them down before turning away. "But if I win, I'll live. If I don't fight, I can't win." She finishes and jumps off the roof.

"Armin we're going!" I yell at him to which he gives me surprised eyes.

"Huh?!"

I grab onto his hand and pull him along side me.

"Cia!" I hear Sasha and a few other people shout.

"Wa-wa-wait!"

"Nope we're going!" Letting go of Armin's hand, I begin running on the roofs after Mikasa.

Mikasa's far ahead of me but that only encourages my legs to run faster.

"Armin, Mikasa's fast isn't she?" I say with furrowed brows. Too fast!

"At this rate she'll-"

"She's falling!" My scream gets the attention of the other trainees.

"What?"

"Damn it!"

"I'm going after her!" Making a U-Turn with my 3DMG, I begin to remember all our joyful memories. Mikasa you're not going to die just because Eren is gone. No! You're going to live and be happy! So please be safe Mikasa!

_Please!_

* * *

**A/N**

**Thanks guest and maybe it will be. I still don't know yet. Anyways, I apologize for any mistakes you may find. So did you all hear about it? I hope you did! **

**Kingdom Hearts III**

**Yep KH3 everybody! My mind is a big jumbled mess and I can't wait to hear the new OST. ' w ' )**

**Ahaha please forgive me for fangirl-ling. **

**Once again…I do** NOT OWN SNK/AOT. **So have a nice day and/or night! ^ o ^ ))))/**

**Inspirational Song – Dearly Beloved**

**Arranged by – Kyle Landry**

**\ ( ^ o ^ ) /**


	8. Trost Is Gone

**8****th**** is where we're at now folks! I don't own nothing (You know that) and I hope you enjoy this chapter ^ ^ )/**

* * *

^**Flashbac**k^

_*Eudocia, age 7*_

_*Toxeus, Age 21*_

"You've been following me around all morning. What about your friends?" My brother looked at me with curiosity in his eyes.

"_They were going out today and…I woke up too late to find them!" I can feel a nervous smile appear on my face because of my own answer. _

_He sighs before pinching my cheek, "It isn't good to lie to your big brother, never once have I seen you play with the other kids." _

"_Th-that's because we don't play around here!" He pulls on my cheek before ushering me out our door. _

"_Now we both know for a fact that that's not true so go out and don't come back till you've made friends." He slams the door before reopening it after 2 seconds. "Love you!" He tilts his head, making a heart with his fingers before walking back in. _

"_You're the reason why I can't make friends in the first place…" Mumbling sadly, I began my search for friends. Today is going to be like any other day…Alone and no one to talk too. _

"_Aww you have her? She looks really cute!" I hear some girls talking. They sound really happy for some reason. Turning my head I notice that they have dolls. One has a white dress and flowing black hair. The other has a pink dress and bright yellow hair._

"_I know! She's so fun to play with." I stood in my spot for about a minute before continuing on my way._

_Inhaling, I kick the wall beside me. "Dolls…They're so stupid!" My shout made the chickens around me squawk and flap their wings. _

"_Hey kid! Stop you shouting would ya'?!" Some random person screamed at me which made me jump._

_Lifting my foot off the wall, I run off. "But I wouldn't mind having one." I slow down my run to a jog and finally a walk. Why do people need friends it's not like they would die without them…Would they? Finally reaching the river, I bend down and look at myself. My hair is held up by one light blue bow while my dress is a soft and very light teal. Why does my brother enjoy dressing me up it makes no sense. _

"_Look at that, it's her!" _

_It's the local bullies! What do I do what do I do? Maybe if I just sit here they'll leave and find someone else to pick on. Hearing footsteps coming towards me, I begin to shiver. _

"_Why are you alone huh?" One of them questions and I see their reflection. He has messily brown hair, brown shorts, and black suspenders on his white shirt. _

_Choosing not to answer, I twirl my finger around the water. _

"_She's not talking what do we do?" The other one looks almost the same but instead he has black hair. _

"_What we always do." His reply was a mixture of cruel and happy. _

_I suddenly feel a harsh tug on my ponytail and I let out a loud yelp. _

"_So are you going to answer?" He continues and when I don't give a reply, he pulls harder. _

_My eyes whirl around for a few seconds before I notice strangers giving us a glance and then walking off. I don't blame them for choosing not to help since the boy's father is in the Scouting Legion. They view this as his way of coping without his father by his side. _

"_It looks like she doesn't care. Why don't we wet her face to get her out of her dream?" I watch as the leader puts his hands in the river to cup some water. _

"_Hey it doesn't look like she wants to play!" A random kid shouts from behind us. _

"_And what are you gonna do about it?!" The boy, who once had his hands full with water, dries them off before puffing out his chest. Turning my head, I see the kid pick up rocks before chucking them at the bullies. _

"_Wh-what?!"_

"_Get him!" The other kid lets go of my hair and I fall onto my back. I'm only able to see the boy stick his tongue out before running off with the bullies behind him. _

_Staring up at the blue sky above I begin to think about the events. "Today was different than any other day." I pick myself up into a sitting position. "What should I do n-"_

_My wrist is suddenly in someone's hold. "What are you doing?! Let's go!" _

_It's the same boy from earlier! He actually came back. Those are the only thoughts in my head while he pulls me along through alleyways and small holes. It's probably only been like 5 minutes but to me it felt like hours. _

"_Think we lost them." He turns his head from left to right before locking his eyes on me. "Are you alright? What's your name?" This boy is different from all the other kids but maybe it's because he actually stood up to the bullies. _

_Dusting myself off, I stare into his brown eyes. "Eudocia Asker and…I'm used to it." _

"_You mean this happens a lot?" His voice was full of disbelief. _

_My hand goes up to tighten my bow. "Yes but this time I won't be going home with bruises thanks to you." My fingers interlock in front of my chest. _

_He only frowns. "If only the people around here weren't so blind. You shouldn't be so happy about that either!" He licks his thumb before wiping some dirt off my cheek. "You're going home with dirt all over and a torn up dress." _

_My fingers go up to feel the skin he just cleaned. "I guess that's true but clothes are something that my brother can sew. Bruises take a longer time to heal." That's when I remember something. _

"_Your brother sews?" He asks while trying to hide his laughter. _

_I begin to giggle. "You don't have to hide it. I find it funny as well but I forgot to ask you something. What's your name?"_

_His eyes stare into mine for a while before he sticks out his hand. "It's -"_

^**End**^

My hands go up to my head and ruffle my hair. "Why am I remembering that now? Of all times?" My sudden shout made Armin jump.

"Cia what's wrong?" I hear Armin ask with concern.

Connie suddenly slides in out of nowhere. "Are you all alright?"

I nod at Connie before turning my head to look at Armin with hope. "Armin you found her right?" My eyes drift frantically from side to side searching for her. "Mikasa!" I crush her with all I got and she only stays still as if she's focusing on something else.

"We need to move!" Connie shouts at us. "Oh no! Two 15-meter class!" We all stand up to stare at the Titans.

"No that Titan…" Mikasa mumbles completely unaware of anyone else. The Titan with nice hair gets into a fighting stance once the other Titan is close enough. I don't know what to call him so I'm going with the Titan with nice hair. How does he know that fighting stance? Only soldiers know that…Right? He suddenly knocks the Titan's head off which greatly surprises us. We all stare with wide eyes at what he just did.

"Did that Titan just…Did he just kill another Titan?" I ask in disbelief. Never before has a Titan ever killed another Titan!

Armin swiftly turns around and faces us with balled fists. "He finished it off! He knew where to hit it, to kill it?!"

"Maybe the Titan's on our side? Ma-maybe he's standing up for Humanity!" I exclaim with my arms outstretched.

Connie only shakes his head, disagreeing with me. "That thing's dangerous. We've gotta move before it comes after us!"

"No. It's showing no interest in us." We all turn to face Armin whose eyes are fixated on the Titan. "Even though it should've attacked us by now. "

"It appeared to know rudimentary combat skills, too. What is it?" Mikasa questions with curiosity rather than confusion like the rest of us.

I turn to Mikasa with a small smile on my face. "It's what humanity's been waiting for!" Maybe this Titan is what we need.

Connie shakes his head. "We just have to assume it's another Aberrant!" He looks down towards the ground. "We know barely anything about them…Anyway let's get to HQ." He begins to walk off.

"Wait!" He has Connie's attention now. "Mikasa's out of gas."

Connie turns to look at her in shock. "Huh! Hey, seriously? What are we supposed to do without you?"

Armin suddenly drops to the floor. "There's only one thing to do…I don't have much left, either. But we need to exchange the canisters, now!"

I sit down on the floor beside him. "What? You can't Armin!"

"There's no other choice! There's no point in me having them." He doesn't look at me or Mikasa. "But don't waste it this time. Use it to save everyone."

I grab his shoulders. "You can't be serious!" I yell at him.

He shakes his head before removing my hands. "But I am! I wasn't in the top ten…There's no way I can help you…Mikasa can do it!"

"Armin…" I try my best to hide my tears. He can't be serious, I mean I can't lose two of my friends!

"Okay, the starter device still works. I gave you all my blades." He pulls out one that he hid in his pocket. "But please let me keep this one." He says with a frightened voice. "I don't want to be eaten alive."

Reaching my hand out towards him, I pull the blade from his fingers and stand up. "Then you won't!" I throw it off to the side before bending down to pick up my blades. "I'll stay here as well! I'll protect you for as long as I can."

"Cia-"

"No I will not leave you behind! Not after all the things you've done for me," I turn to face Mikasa and well, Connie too. "And them."

Mikasa pulls Armin up before resting her hands on our shoulder. "Armin, Cia." She looks into both of our eyes. "We won't leave you here so stop it." Her gaze is so serious that I can't help but let a few tears spill.

"Mi-Mi-Mikasa!" My arms wrap around her torso. "Armin!" I make him join in. This time…They both return it, full force.

"You guys are too weird." Connie mutters begrudgingly.

* * *

**A/N**

**How was/is everyone's day today? I hope it went well. Sorry for any mistakes! Anyways, I won't be able to update this weekend because my family will be taking a trip to Disney and so here is the new chapter for y'all! Ahaha my cat just jumped onto the couch just now. ANYWAYS…I really do hope you enjoyed this chapter and bye! ^ o ^ )/ Stay awesome!**

**Inspirational Song – Leave In Summer, Yet You're In My Fluffoughts**

Sang by – H. Miku

**Thanks for reading! \ ( ^ o ^ ) /**


	9. The Heartbeat

_In the year 850…The Colossal Titan reappeared and breached the wall. And once again, humanity could not stop a Titan invasion. Soldiers fell, one after the next, before the Titan assault. And then…Eren fell victim to the Titans. When Mikasa faced certain death, a mysterious Titan appeared that attacked other Titans._

* * *

"But…Carrying someone, while leaping through a Titan-filled Area-"

"Is a risk we're gonna have to take." My voice was as cold as ice. Armin must've of noticed it too because he made no objection whatsoever. I kept up with Mikasa while Connie held his hand.

"Wait!" Armin suddenly shouts which causes Connie to let go of him. "I have a plan!"

What kind of plan could Armin have at the moment? He said it himself that this is a Titan-Filled area so why is he delaying? I turn on my heel and face him.

"You three will have to execute it so you decide…I know it's crazy, but could we use that Titan?" Armin seems to be thinking what I'm thinking.

"That Titan?"

"Yes that Titan!" My hands go up to Connie's shoulders. "It's already fighting other Titans so why not take advantage of that?" He stares into my hopeful eyes with his wide and confused ones.

"Yeah it's not interested in us. Could we lead it to the supply area somehow?" Armin only seems to be looking at Connie so I remove my hands off his shoulders. "If it defeats the other Titans, everyone might be saved!"

"Lead it?!" His voice is laced with disbelief.

I know Titans are our natural enemies but we don't have another plan. This is possibly the only chance we'll ever get to saving everyone!

"How would we do that?"

"I think it's fighting instinctively, the three of you will defeat the Titans near it." He turned away from us to face the Rogue Titan. "That should make it move to find more. It should head to HQ." Studying Armin more closely, I notice that his hand is trembling. That means he's unsure of his plan himself.

"We can't do something that dangerous on a hunch!" Connie yells beside me. I massage my ear from how loud he was.

"But if it works," Armin turns himself around to face all of us again. "We might be able to destroy all the Titans all around HQ." His eyes show determination but his hand is still trembling.

"It's worth a shot." I look up at Mikasa with my eyes shining. Turns out I'm not the only one supporting Armin's plan.

"Huh? Are you serious?" Connie questions her now, his voice still laced with disbelief.

"Better to try something than to simply wait for death. Let's go with Armin's plan." Her eyes dart from Connie to me. I nod with a small smile on my face.

"Fight the Titans with another Titan?"

"Yes," She lightly flips her bangs away from her eyes. "That's right."

"If we fail, they'll laugh at us…" He says with a nervous smile on his face.

"But if we succeed, everyone will survive." Armin's hand finally stops trembling and he has a look of determination on his face. I mentally sigh because he finally believes in himself.

"Let's go."

"Right!" I yell behind her.

"Fine…Fine!" Mikasa and I are already leaping off the roof by the time Connie shouts.

It's only been a minute and a Titan suddenly appears. We part ways when we reach the tall lanky Titan. She goes left, I go right. His dead black eyes are fixated on me and before I know it, Mikasa's already sliced him. Guess I really am the distraction. Chuckling softly, I slice the next Titan whose eyes and hands were aimed at Mikasa. We swing by the Rogue Titan and manage to catch his attention. He growls before racing ahead of us towards HQ.

"Mikasa! I'll head on ahead to make sure the coast is clear!" I shout from beside her. I'm focused on what's ahead of me so I don't know what she's thinking.

"But-"

"Nope no objections this time!" I swing around a Titan's head and leave it to Mikasa who kills it with ease. "I'll clean out any Titans who may get in your guys way so in return," I slow down and whisper in her ear. "You keep them safe." She only sighs while I smile. "Well, I'm off!" I wave my sword in air and go as fast as I can towards HQ. Why aren't there any more Titans in this area? My ears drift from tower too tower but still no Titan in sight. That's when I notice HQ right in front of me. "Way too close! Way too close!" Out of fright, I release my blades and cover my face. "Damn it!"

"Look out!" Was that Reiner? Without thinking, I uncover my face. Am I so happy to see him or rather, anyone for that matter!

"Rein- OH CRAP!" My eyes focus on the two figures in front of me and wait is that Marco?! He's holding someone but who is it?

"Sorry!" He suddenly shouts before releasing the person and running off to the side. The person barely has time to turn before I plummet into them.

"Shit…"The person mutters. I lift myself up and rub the now aching spot on my forehead. I stare down at the person beneath me and instantly recognize the hair.

"Jean?"

"Cia?" He asks with a surprised face. A smile appears on my face and I take a look around the room. Reiner, Bertholdt, Annie, Marco, and of course Jean are the only people I recognize.

"Could you get off me now? It's becoming hard for me to breath."

"Oh right sor-" I lift my myself up off him but that's when I realize something. "Did you imply that I weigh a lot?"

"What?" He only rubs his forehead at my question.

"I'll have you know, I only weigh 147 pounds!" I shout with my hands balled into fists. Blushing uncontrollably, I make my way over to Annie.

"BWAHAHA!" The only person laughing right now is Reiner. Everyone else is either too shocked or frightened to do or say anything.

"Ann-"

"GET DOWN!" Reiner suddenly shouts. There's no time to think because I'm suddenly shoved down towards the floor. Scratching my forehead, I look to see a now formed hole in the wall…With Titans.

"We're leaving." My ears barely caught Annie's words because of all the shouts and cries resounding off the walls. She grabs my wrist before beginning to walk out.

"Bu-but Mikasa! Armin and Connie too!" I retract my hand and turn to face the Titans again. All I see though...Is Jean completely frozen.

"She's alive?"

"Yes of course she is! So are the others as well." She stares at me for a while longer before looking over at the Titans. "They'll be here! Just-just give them a minute." Her eyes drift from me towards the people violently shoving their ways though. She turns to face me with crossed arms.

"It's too crowded and if we decide to go right now…You'll probably have a broken ankle." Her stoic expression and emotionless voice were the same as ever. Haha wait. Why would I end up with the broken ankle? Also, why doesn't she just leave without me? She could've done so before all this. Then I realize that Jean is still standing in the same spot. Once my eyes meet his back, that's when I see a fist. That one fist took down two Titans in just half a second. Glass is suddenly shattered and I barely have enough time to cover my face.

"Look see its them!" I point towards the trio with a huge smile on my face. She stares for only a second and looks off towards the side. Everyone else stares in amazement and joy. I take a step to walk towards them but a hand holds me back.

"They're fine. We should get downstairs now before you get trampled." There she goes again with the 'you'.

"But don't you want to hear more about the Titan?"

"What else do I need to know? It fights other Titans." She walks off ahead of me and I decide to follow her. Turning my body around, I stare at them once again. Surprisingly, Mikasa was looking directly at me and so I wave at her before walking off. We walked down the steps down into what looked like a really huge shed. Or maybe a basement, hm.

"It's pretty chilly down here…" My hands go up to rub my arms.

"Is it?"

"It is! But it doesn't affect you because you have a sweater." She nods before taking a seat on a random on the floor. Not knowing what else to do, I sit across from her. There's silence between us but I notice that it's not uncomfortable. This really gives me time to think. It isn't long before footsteps and joyful voices are heard. The once quiet room isn't quiet anymore. Two familiar faces Connie and Reiner, sit beside the two of us.

"How much do you know about that Titan?" Reiner asks with his arms crossed.

"We can worry about that once we get out." Connie answers him with a smile.

"You're right," He breathes a sigh of relief. "We'll get out of here first."

Yeah of course we will.

"We found it!" Everyone turns their heads to stare at the people who walked in. Jean, Marco and some other guys are carrying these huge wooden crates. "This is military police stuff…"

"So what's in there?" My question draws most people's attention to me.

"That's what we're going to find out." He places the crate on the floor and opens it. Why is he just sitting and staring at a box? Wait…What's in it? I crawl over to him and stare at the contents inside.

"Firearms? These might be good right?" My eyes are glued onto the shiny object. He dusts the gun off before picking it up.

"But are scatter shots really enough?" His eyes are examining everything. "Will these rifles actually be of any use against the Titans?" The room is filled with an eerie silence as he walks over towards Armin with the rifle. It's pretty hard to believe that ANY type of firearm would be helpful.

"I think they're a lot better than nothing." Armin says without breaking eye contact with Jean. "If there are still only seven 3 - to 4 – meter class Titans in the supple room, even this may be enough firepower to blind them all at once." Has Armin been thinking of a plan before hand or is he just coming up with it? Either way his plans always seem to work well, most of the time. "First, we'll the lift to lower a large number of people through the central ceiling. They'll fire in the faces of the seven Titans in unison to blind them. And then, the next instant will be critical." I wonder what is going to be critical. "The seven of us hidden among the ceiling beams will strike the blinded Titans in a coordinated ambush. In other words, in this plan, all of our lives will depend on this one strike. The seven must kill seven Titans at the same time, with a single strike. The seven will be those of us whose skills give us the best chance, but…I'm sorry to make them bear the weight of everyone's lives. "He looks down and slightly ashamed.

"It's all right." Reiner comforts him with a smile. I walk over to Armin and sit between him and Mikasa. They didn't mind my sudden appearance.

"Regardless of who goes, everyone dies if we fail. The risk is the same." I can't stop the smile threatening to appear on my face because of Annie. Is she trying to comfort him too? That's very nice of her.

"But is the plan I conceived…Really the best one?" He still doesn't believe in his plan?

"It's our only option…There's no time, and this is the best plan we'll have. We just have to give it all we've got!" Marco exclaims with a smile.

"Yeah! No matter what…Your plans always seem to get us out of anything." My hand is on his shoulder as I say this. A smile appears on his face at our words.

"It's fine. Have confidence in yourself. You have the ability to find the right solution. That ability has saved the three of us, Eren, Cia, and me.

"When was this?" He says with both confusion and shock. My hand gives his shoulder a small reassuring squeeze. He only stares at the both of us, waiting for an answer.

"The lift's ready! The guns, too! They're all loaded!" One of the trainees yells. We all stand up and Armin hands me his rifle and picks up another.

"You just don't realize it. We'll talk later." Mikasa looks at the both of us before walking off.

"Yeah." I nudge him before walking off towards the lift. He follows me in but before he has the chance to move elsewhere, I grab him and position him in front of me.

"You're going to be in my sights at all times." I try my best to say that without laughing.

"What but why?" Before he gets the chance to turn around and face me, I enclose him between my arms. My rifle was placed on the floor beside our feet. He's surprised at the close proximity of our bodies and nearly jumps. "W-Why are you so close?" He holds his rifle in his hands and tries backing up even if it's no use. It's really funny because he's blushing like crazy.

"Friends always have to stick together. Also," Leaning close in to his ear, I whisper. "It's reassuring for me to know that I've still got a friend and I'm not hallucinating." I lean back and notice that he's still blushing but he's smiling now.

"Jeez you guys. Shouldn't you be doing that elsewhere?" Marco suddenly appears out of nowhere and that's when I wonder how many people are inside the lift? With just the slight of my head, I see more than 6 people. Standing, blushing, and some were trying not to pay attention.

"I really would but Armin said he liked it like this."

"H-Hey Cia!"

"I'm just joking with you," I pat his head before bending down to pick up my rifle. "But you're still going to be in front of me."

"Okay." Those are the final words I hear before the lift is lowered down.

"It's okay…Their numbers haven't changed." We all point our rifles at the Titans and I can see some people shivering. "We're still a go!" The first Titan appears and I have to look somewhere else when it smiles at us. "Keep calm! Draw them in!" I resist the urge to cower behind Armin because I'm a soldier and if everyone else can do it…So can I! "Wait!" The Titan with the huge smile is soon in front of us and leaning towards our faces. "Ready," Hold the gun steady. "Fire!" Everything begins to flash and I'm nearly blinded. The Titans were grabbing at their nonexistent eyes and didn't care about the blood on their fingers.

"That's disgusting." I mumble before the seven all come out and slice their Titans. It looked as if we got them but Connie and Sasha missed theirs. "Shit." If I had my 3DMG I would've swung by and tried to pick them up. Immediately dropping the rifle on the floor, I lean in close and lay my head above Armin's. "Come you guys, dodge their hands and run!" My scream hadn't caught the attention of the Titans but it did catch the other five's attention.

"Connie and Sasha!"

"Hurry and help them!"

Without consideration for Armin, my chest is stuck to his backside like glue. He doesn't mind since he's worried for our teammates. In a flash, Mikasa and Annie take down the two Titans and everyone's instantly relieved.

"We got them all! Begin the resupply." Jean yells up to us.

"See Armin! Your plan worked!" I hug him as tight as I can.

"C-Cia! Y-Yeah we did it but don't you think you're a bit too close?"

"H'mm?"

"We aren't little kids anymore and-"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Why is it so weird? I always do this…Don't I?

"What I'm trying to say is-"

"Armin is talking about your chest Cia."

"My chest?" I let go of Armin and look down.

"It's-" He suddenly falls backward. Armin manages to catch him along with some other girl. He opens his eyes and looks at me again. "Developed." The guys are blushing while the girls are giggling. I stood there with a blushing Armin and stoic face.

"Oh…"

**After Refilling the Tanks**

"Rendezvous with the rest of the army! Go!" The trainees shouted. Where's Mikasa? She suddenly ran off right after she finished refilling.

"Mikasa!" Armin runs up beside me.

"You found her?" He points up at the roof and there she is. Immediately I fly up towards her with Armin following right beside me.

"Mikasa we have to run."

"Yeah we need to meet up with the army." We try getting her to move but she won't budge an inch.

"That Titan..." Hm, what is she staring at? I turn my head and what I see is beyond gruesome.

"Cannibalism?" The Titans are eating the Rogue Titan, the one that helped us. "Can it not regenerate its body?"

"I thought that if we could solve the mystery of that Titan, it may give us a way to overcome our bleak predicament." She's right.

"I agree." We all turn to see who joined in our conversation. There were a lot of actually, Reiner, Annie, Jean, and Bertholdt. "If it gets eaten, we won't learn anything. Let's try to keep it alive by killing the ones clinging to it."

"Are you insane Reiner?" Everyone's head turns to face Jean. "We can finally get out of here!"

"What if it might be able to help us? Might it now prove a greater weapon than any cannon?" Annie and Reiner seem to be on Mikasa's side.

"Help us? Are you serious?"

"Yes we're serious!" I stomp my foot and stare down at the ground. "We can't just leave that Titan. He saved us and without his help we could've," I sniffle. "We would've died! Now for us to just leave him behind like that? It's exactly like leaving a friend to die!" What am I saying? It's just a Titan! Our natural enemy! It's a disgusting monster but…It's also our savior. I rub my eyes with the sleeves of my jacket. I feel a hand on my shoulder and I notice its Mikasa.

"Mikasa…" I stare into her coal black eyes for a while before I realized that I was crying way too much. I rub my eyes for a few seconds before I finally stop. "Thanks."

"That's the Aberrant that ate Thomas!" We all turn to look at what he was staring at and it was horrifying. This Titan was extremely long and his bones were nearly visible. At least I only got to fight Titans with a lot of skin. The Rogue Titan suddenly threw all the other ones off of him and dashed straight for the Aberrant with his teeth barred.

"His ribs…They're breaking and he still doesn't care." It bites the other Titan's neck and uses its body to defeat the ones surrounding him. This Titan is really smart…Too smart to be a Titan.

"It doesn't need help." It gives one final roar before falling to the ground, exhausted.

"I guess it's finally exhausted itself...That's enough we're leaving."

"We could check it out before it regenerates can't we?" I turn to Jean, pointing at the Titan.

"For what? That thing couldn't possibly help us. A Titan is still a Titan." Turning away from him, I leap off the roof and swing towards it.

"Wait Cia!" I hear multiple shouts from behind me but I could care less.

"What's happening to it? Why isn't it regenerating?" As I finally neared the Titan, I noticed something protruding from its neck. "The hell is that thing?" My voice is soft so just in case it's alive, I won't startle it. My heart nearly jumps out of my chest because of what I'm staring at. That's no Titan. That familiar pale shirt, soft dark brown hair, and…his face. My hands go up to my face as I drop myself to the ground. "It's...It's Eren! H-He's alive!" I cry loudly and begin hiccupping. Hearing footsteps, I pick up my head to see Mikasa running towards him and before I know it, she's already hugging him.

"Cia, Mikasa, pick him up and get out of here before the guards come." Even though I'm bawling my eyes out, I listen to Jean and help carry Eren up to a tower. I crouch down beside Mikasa and stare at Eren's hand for a long while.

"I don't know if it's really you," Picking up his left hand, I enclose it with mine. "But I'm praying this is reality." The next few minutes are filled with silence until Armin crouches beside Mikasa as well, and holds Eren's right hand.

_What happened?_

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**A/N**

**I've been busy sorry. Please forgive me! Short note and sorry for any mistakes you may find. Have a nice day and/or night! I really hope you enjoyed this chapter and please stay tuned. **

**Inspirational Song – Dreams of An Absolution **

**Bloop! – It's from Sonic**

ヾ(´ ' ω '｀)


	10. Where The Left Arm Went

**I actually posted a picture ahaha ' w ' I may color it in with Sai but later on. Anyways, I really hope you enjoy this chapter and thanks for reviewing!**

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_One reason so many soldiers died in the Titans' attack on Trost was the absence of the elite__Survey corps. Only that morning, they had embarked on a reconnaissance mission beyond the walls._

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**Eren's POV**

"What…Where am I?" It's so dark, red, and… What the hell am I floating in? My eyes drift form one area to the next and all I see is more of this weird liquid. Hearing something in front of me, my eyes dart downwards. W-what the hell is that?! It's a…A body part!

No that's not anything is it? I must be hallucinating. I couldn't even sigh before I felt something bump into me from the side. Turning my head slowly and gulping, I found that it was a dismembered arm this time. "What's going on?" Looking from left to right, all is see are more bloody heads, arms, and even legs. I must be hallucinating I mean I really didn't get eaten by that Titan did I?

_Wait_

Armin was there too. He was crying, yelling, reaching towards me with his hand. Then I… I really did get eaten by a-a Titan! My heart was beating fast and it ultimately felt like it was going to jump out of my chest. Was I actually going to die in here? Looking behind me, I found half a body floating. It wasn't supposed to be this way. We had changed over the past five years…We trained as hard as we could. We thought long and hard. It was all to defeat them…So that they wouldn't take anything else from us.

"It's hot." I hear someone's voice. No way…There couldn't possibly be another live human in here. "It's so hot…Save me, mother." My mind instantly begins to think of my own mom. Memories flashed before my eyes and I couldn't take it anymore. Shaking my head out of fear, I turn back to the soldier.

"Save…" I can only stare in shock and fear as she finally stopped talking and sunk to the bottom. Why did this happen? Why do they take everything from us? Our lives. Our dreams…Why? Tears are streaming down my face.

"Damn it all! Damn it! Damn it!" I lift my left arm up and point it towards the Titan's throat. "I won't give up! I'll eliminate them all…Every single Titan! I'll kill them myself!

_**I'll wipe them off the face of the earth! Every single one!**_

_**More…**_

_**More…**_

_**Kill more!**_

_**I want to kill…**_

_**Kill…**_

_**More…**_

"I'll kill them all."

"Eren?" Was that Armin's voice? Looking to my right I see Armin holding me up while on my left, Cia is. It's only when I turn my head to face forward that my eyes widen at the multiple soldiers surrounding us.

"Eren?" Mikasa's as worried as ever. Even if she's protecting the four of us and going up against more than 20 soldiers.

"Eren are you alright?" Hearing the urgency in Cia's voice, I nod.

"Can you move? Tell them everything you know," Armin shakes me with tears in his eyes. "I'm sure they'll understand."

"Armin?" Who am I supposed to talk to? What's going on? So many questions and yet, no answers.

"Hear that," The soldiers begin to talk amongst themselves. "He said, I'll kill them all!"

"Yes I heard him. He's going to devour us." What are they all talking about? Are those blades pointed at us? Those blades are for fighting Titans.

"He's not going to do anything!" Cia shouts, swinging her left arm out. So those blades…they aren't directed towards us no. They're aimed only at me.

"What if she's a Titan too? If she suddenly becomes angry then-"

A Titan too? Does that mean-

"Trainee Jaeger! As well as Trainees Ackerman, Arlert, and Asker…What you're doing right now is an act of treason! We may decide to kill you on the spot!"

Why are we going to be killed?!

"If you attempt to lie to us, or make a single move, we fire an HE Projectile at you immediately! We will not hesitate!" Looking up towards the left portion of the wall, sure enough there's a cannon aimed at us.

"Answer me at once! What are you?!" He screams at us or rather, me in particular. "Are you a man or a Titan?!"

What kind of question is that? No…Why even look at me with those frightened pair or eyes? Isn't it obvious? I'm a man! As much as I wanted to shout this, the words just couldn't form in my mouth. Looking at me as if I'm a monster…Is that what they think I am? Swallowing the new forming lump in my throat, I inhale before answering.

"I d-don't understand the question!" It's true! I don't know what he's trying to ask or what he wants me to say.

"He's pretending to know nothing?"

What does he-

"Monster! Try that again, and I'll blow you to pieces!" He leans towards us with his right arm outstretched. "It just takes an instant! You won't have time to reveal your true form!" He yells at me angrily with his arms swinging.

"True form?" My shoulder is squeezed softly by Cia.

"Plenty of people saw you, as you emerged from within a Titan! Humanity has permitted an unknown creature like you to infiltrate Wall Rose! Even if you are Trainees given to us by the King, the safest course is to eliminate the risk immediately!"

No that can't be…I'm no monster!

"You're wrong! He's not what you think he is!" Cia's teeth are practically bared and she looks about ready to kill. I've never seen her with this expression in all my years I have known her.

"My thinking is correct!" He yells before turning back to me. "The Armored Titan that destroyed Wall Maria could appear at any minute. Right now, humanity is at risk of annihilation! Do you understand? We can't waste more time or troops on you! I will fire an HE projectile at you without hesitation!" He continues screaming at us and suddenly points his finger.

"It's true that they aren't being cooperative. We aren't likely to get any useful information out of them." Who is this girl? "You're right, Sir. We're wasting time and troops." She's speaking so calmly and she doesn't seem to be at all shocked. Still, what the hell is she saying?

"Captain, this is our chance!" What's this troop saying? Their chance for what exactly? "If we dismember him while he pretends to be human…"

Dismember?! I feel a sudden chill go down my spine at the thought of watching my limbs being chopped and pulled apart. One by one till all they had to do was chop my head clean off.

"My specialty is tearing through flesh."

Mikasa?

"If necessary, I am willing to demonstrate at any time. If anyone would like to experience it firsthand, I invite them to be the first to approach."

What's she saying? Does she want to die too?! The soldier's are whispering amongst themselves. Alright…I'll use this chance to ask them what's happening.

"Mikasa, Armin, Cia! What's going on here?!" Before I get an answer, Armin rushes towards Mikasa's side.

"I know this may sound like a lie or just a really bad joke but please, just bear with me." I feel a soft squeeze on my shoulder again.

"Huh?" Just from staring at Cia's face, you could tell she's troubled. Or doesn't know how to word what she wants to tell me.

"First things first…You were eaten by a Titan and everyone thought you were dead. It wasn't till the whole no, at least half of the squad was ordered to jump the walls that we saw a Titan." She swallows hard before continuing. "That Titan was you."

"But wasn't that a dream?" I suddenly grab her shoulder. She flinches at the contact.

"No," She shakes her head and lays her hand on mine. "Eren," Her eyes drift to the side and she takes a soft breath. "You're a Titan."

Then my arm regrew where my clothes are missing…That'd make me just like a Titan! I pull my arm away from her and stare at it with anger. Why would I…Why?

"I'll ask you once more! What are you?!"

I can't screw up my answer…Not this time. I wouldn't be the only one to die. Mikasa and Cia give me reassuring looks while Armin is completely terrified. So I can't put these 3 in danger. That's right. I've always been just like everyone else…

"A human!" I answer him with honesty. I've always…Always been like my friends. Like my family.

"I see…Then don't hate me for this."

Is he really lifting up his arm?! He can't be serious! I…I answered honestly!

"There's no avoiding it. No one can prove that they are not the devil." His arm is completely up.

That's it isn't-

"Eren, Armin, Cia! We're going up!"

"Got it!" Cia shouts and runs over to Armin's side, grabbing his arm.

"Stop!" Mikasa ignores me and merely lifts me up onto her shoulder. Wait this isn't right! Looking down towards the ground, I notice my key in the air. This key…The key my dad gave to me…The basement.

**Dad?**

_Never let go of this key. _

_And every time you see it, remember that you must go to the basement!_

**The basement! **

_This shot will impair your memory. That's why I can't explain now…Listen to me. Take back Wall Maria and reach the basement. This power will help you then. Their memories will tell you how to use it._

_Eren!_

Mikasa…Let go! Pushing myself off her, I grab her hand before running towards Cia and Armin.

_If you get to the basement someday, you'll learn the truth…_

"Armin, Cia!" My shout pulls their attention away from the soldiers.

_The path will be harsh and cruel, but you must make it there!_

The cannonball…It's coming towards us! I must reach them before it hits us!

_If you wish to save Mikasa, Armin, Cia, and everyone else, you must master this power!_

Pulling on Cia's jacket who in turn pulled Armin alongside her, I held the three of them in my arms.

This is it!

What I need to do.

Those are my final thoughts as I instinctively bite my thumb.

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**A/N**

**Sorry for my lack of updating but I was at AX and I had a lot of things going on so I really had no time. Sorry! I felt like this chapter should be dedicated to Eren so I wrote it in his POV. I hope he wasn't ooc. Sorry if he was! Well it's pretty late so I should be going to sleep. Next chapter will hopefully be in 4 days or so. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Sorry for any mistakes you might have found! Have a good night and/or day!**

**Inspirational Song – The Whole Kingdom Hearts 2 Soundtrack, OST**

ﾐ(o*' ω ')ﾉ


	11. The Salute That Caused A Miracle

**Thank you all! Thank you so much. I'm sorry for not updating on time but I've been busy. Well anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. This will most likely be two episodes in one because I will not write all of the dialogue that happens in episode 10. Well, on with the chapter I suppose.**

**Chapter Start!**

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**Cia's POV**

Steam, that's all I see. My eyes shift from the right to the left but there's only Mikasa and Armin. I remember Eren suddenly biting his thumb but he couldn't possibly be in these bones, can he? Looking up, that's when I see the chunk of flesh. No body, just bones and a skinless head.

"I remember hearing the canon fire…And then there was a horrible sound, a shock wave, and heat…" Armin's voice is full of fear. His eyes are wide and he has a frightened expression on his face.

"Armin?" Maybe my voice will calm him down.

"Are we inside a huge skeleton-

"Eren saved us." Before he can finish, Mikasa cut him off. "That's all we need to know for now."

Turning my body to face her, I notice she's surprised (Shock?) but not as much as Armin and me. This situation is just too much to grasp, why can Eren turn into a Titan? Why'd they even gave us a choice if there were going to kill us anyway?

"Hey! Are you okay?!" Hearing Eren's voice, we all turn to stare at his running form. He was sweating, he looked like he ran out of energy.

"Eren, what is this?" Armin asks him, nervously.

"No idea…"

Well that helped.

"But this thing will soon dissipate like any other Titan corpse, let's get away from it." He leaves us, immediately walking towards the soldiers. Surprisingly, he stops and instead of fighting, scans the area.

"After showing them this, I doubt we'll be able to walk our way out." Armin tells us. He's right, they'll automatically execute us.

"But I do remember one thing…The basement." Standing beside Mikasa, I can actually hear the determination in his voice. "The basement of my house." He gulps, tightly holding his key. "Dad said if I go there, I'll learn everything. This happened to me because of him, too." Noticing his quivering eyes, I intervene.

"Eren, we'll get there but for now, we need to focus on what we need to do." My voice is calm but I don't know if Eren is. His eyes shift towards me for a second before he sighs and loosens his hold on the key.

"I know but if I go to the basement, I'll probably learn what the Titans really are." His voice is calm but right after he mentioned the Titans; he punched the bones, effectively cracking them. "Damn it! Then why did he hide it? Isn't that information what thousands of Survey Corps soldiers died for? Isn't it humanity's last hope?"

We secretly decided to let Eren take out his anger instead of intervening since; we don't exactly know what he would do.

"And he's been keeping it locked in the basement of our house? What the hell was he thinking? Where the hell has he been the past five years, anyway?"

You could actually feel all the anger he's held back for those five years. The only thought that ran through his mind was Titans. Now he's letting everything out about his father.

"Eren," Mikasa grabs his shoulder, "Right now, we have other priorities." Eren leaves his rambling for another time and follows us to a better area. The head and all the bones are breaking so whatever problem we have, we need t deal with it fast.

"I'm getting out of here." Eren begins, looking at the three of us.

I can feel a lump grow in my throat because of how he said it. Instead of 'we' he used 'I' and that just leaves a bad feeling in my gut.

"Where will you go? And how?" Armin asks, surprise and worry laced in his voice.

"For now I don't care where. But from there, over the walls, to the basement. Once I become a Titan again." He says, looking at his balled fist.

"Can you do that?" Armin asks the question I wanted to. Can he really turn into a Titan whenever he wants and not be tired?

"I don't know how I do it myself. But I still think I can! It's similar to the way you can't explain how you move your own arm." He says, staring at his open palm. "Back there, my only thought was stopping that shell. So that body had no other function and rotted away after serving its purpose." Hearing his rapid breaths, I extend my hand out towards him.

"Eren, are you alright?" I ask, worried for his health.

"This time, I'll turn into something stronger," He continues, ignoring my question, "A 15-meter class, like the one that tore apart those Titans."

"Eren, your nose is bleeding." Mikasa tells him, to which he flinches.

"You look pale, and your breaths are ragged. Your body is in bad shape." I wasn't the only one paying attention to his breathing, Armin noticed it as well.

"How I feel doesn't matter."

"What do you mean it doesn't matter?" His eyes shift to me again. "You're tired and you need to rest. Even if you have this-this Titan power, it doesn't mean you're invincible."

"I know but there's nothing we can do."

I blink at his voice. He wasn't angry and well, that was a first.

"I've come up with two options. First, if you don't try to protect me, at least they won't kill you. Although I've already caused you trouble. I'm thinking of leaving here alone."

So I was right…He really did plan on leaving without us-his best friends.

"Eren I'm coming with you." Mikasa's voice is as cold as steel. She's already made up her mind and won't change it.

Knowing that this will be between Eren and Mikasa, I pull on Armin's jacket. His eyes shift from Eren to me and I resist the urge to cry.

"Cia?" His voice as soft as I expected.

"You think this is it for us? Do you think we'll ever see each other again?" He jumps at my questions, though I don't know why.

"Cia-

"What if they both leave and we need to stay here, do we go with them? Or do what we had promised back then and join the Survey Corps?" I bite my lip in order to hold in my tears. Being separated from the only three people I've known in my whole life isn't what I want. I thought we'd always be together and be the best Titan killers that the world has ever known. "I'm scared Armin…" I finally say the words I've been dreading.

"There's nothing you should be afraid of. You're strong and you saved me from bullies when we were kids." He tries to lift up my spirits but I could tell that he too was scared. Was there something going on in his head that he wasn't telling me?

"Armin," Letting go of Armin's jacket, I turn to face Eren. "I'll let you decide."

"Huh?" Armin jumps at Eren's words.

"I know what I've just said isn't that realistic. The smartest thing to do would be to stay with the troops and use this ability strategically. I know it's crazy…But if you think you can convince the Garrison I'm not a threat right now, I will trust your judgment and follow your lead. That's my second option. If you say you can't, I'll do what I described before. You have fifteen seconds to decide. Whether or not you can, I'll respect your decision." Eren finishes, staring straight at Armin.

"Eren, why would you entrust me with this choice?"

Why wouldn't he trust you Armin? You're practically the best at things like this.

"Whenever things get really bad, you always know the right thing to do. And I want to rely on you."

"When have I-

"There have been plenty of times. Five years ago, if you hadn't called Hannes, Titans would have eaten Mikasa and me." His eyes become wide at the sudden realization that he saved Eren and Mikasa.

"And if you hadn't pulled me away from my house," His eyes are on me now, "Who knows what would've happened." From the corners of my eye, I notice that Mikasa and Eren had surprised faces. That's right; I've never told them that Armin saved me. More bones fell which had me holding my face because of the harsh wind.

"Armin we're out of time."

"I will persuade them." He stands up. "The three of you, avoid doing anything that'd make them think you're a threat."

The only thing the three of us can do is hope that Armin will convince them. All too soon I hear gasps and the yelling of that one captain. He's really getting on my nerves.

"He is not an enemy of humanity! We are prepared to share all the information we have!" Armin yells at them.

Knowing that the captain won't be considering Armin's words, and continues to yell out the same things, I only pay attention to Armin.

"There is no need for proof! The question isn't what we think of him! I'm told that many of you saw him! Then you saw him fighting the Titans! And you saw the Titans swarm him! That means the Titans considered him food, the same way they think of us! That is the truth, no matter what we may think or believe!"

Not hearing anyone else, or even the captain for that matter, I'm forced to believe that Armin either did it or they're thinking it through. Everything Armin said was true, there's no denying that the Titans think of Eren like us, as food. Anything they try to say will be wrong, no matter what.

"Prepare to attack! Don't be fooled by their clever lies!" He suddenly yells.

Is he really that terrified that he can't think clearly? My hand turns into a fist and I resist the urge to run out there and help him out. Looking up, that's when I notice Armin's shocked eyes on us. The only action I'm able to do is nod and smile.

"I am a soldier! I swore long ago to dedicate my life to the revival of humanity! If that pursuit were to cost me my life, I would be glad! If we use his Titan powers and the forces we still have, we could take back this town! With my final breath before my death, I shall wish for humanity's glory, and try to persuade you of his strategic value!" Armin finishes.

For sure he'll understand, right? Armin did all that and what he said actually made a lot of sense, I'm not just saying that because I'm his friend but it's possible. While my mind is busy thinking of all the things Eren can do, my eyes catch his hand rising. He's going to give the signal! Without another care in the world, my body acts on its own and runs towards Armin.

"Armin!" He hears my voice but doesn't have time to turn his head since I latch onto him. Hugging him from behind, I prepare for our deaths. Seconds, even minutes pass and yet there's no pain or anything. Opening my eyes, I see another person standing beside the captain. Wasn't he called Pixis or something? No matter, he's smiling at us which means he's on our side. I feel Armin's legs get wobbly and as he's falling down, so do I.

"Cia…I did it." He whispers. A smile appears on my face as I hug him even tighter.

"You did."

_**Time skip**_

We watch as commander Pixis walks along the edge of the Wall, drinking his alcohol. The sun was nearly below the clouds now, which means we have at least an hour before it becomes completely dark. The sky itself was a light orange which should've been nice to look at if it weren't for Titans being around. Standing between Armin and Eren, was me. Mikasa was standing on Eren's left side. So far, he's been muttering to himself while overlooking the Titans. Eren was busy telling him everything about the basement and his Titan form.

"I see. And if we reach this basement, we'll understand everything?" He asked Eren without taking his attention off the Titans.

"Yes…Will you believe me?" Eren answers, hoping that he didn't think he was lying.

"As long as you, yourself, lack absolute conviction, I can't promise more than that I'll keep it in mind." Pixis says, turning to us and tapping his head with his finger. "But I do take pride in being able to recognize the truth of what I see. I'll guarantee your safety."

The tenseness in our shoulder's lessened as we let out relieved sighs. Thank Wall Maria we'll be safe, for now that is.

"Trainee Arlert, was it?" He asks, looking at Armin now.

"Yes, sir!" He sounds like he gained back all the energy he'd lost.

"Back there, you said we could use the Titan's power to reclaim this city. Did you really think so? Or was it just a plea to save your life?" He questions Armin.

There's no way he didn't think so, it was such a good idea. I stare at him from the corner of my eyes, awaiting his response.

"Well…Both."

That's surprising for sure but then again, anyone would have tried anything to save their own life.

What I meant was to have Eren become a Titan, and then move that boulder to seal the destroyed gate. But it was just an idea…I thought I could get them to at least consider using Eren's power to find a way out of our predicament. "

Pixis turns his back on us, looking down at the Titans once more. Did he not believe Armin either?

"Of course, I wanted to survive!"

"You wanted to survive. I can trust those words more than any others." He drinks his alcohol again, even if we're anxiously waiting for his response. He stops before walking over to Eren. "Well, Trainee Jaeger?"

"Yes?"

"Can you seal that hole?" He asks, crouching down to Eren's level.

"Well…Well…"

Just say you can! You've controlled both your Titan transformations so this shouldn't be too hard, right? Needing to occupy myself with something because the wait was taking too long, even though it's been a few seconds, my hands decide to button up the three buttons on my dress shirt.

"I don't know. I don't know much more than everyone else here does."

A frown appears on my face but also a saddened look because Eren has to deal with something he doesn't know.

"So…whether I can do it or not, I can't answer you for sure when I don't know." Eren tells him, honestly. At least, he wasn't lying so that's good.

"That's true. I'm sorry. I asked the wrong question."

What was that? Did he really ask the wrong question or is there something more?

"Will you do it? Or won't you?" He asks him, taking his eyes off him and looking over the walls once more.

Eren turns to look at the land so of course all of us turn. It's beautiful. The rivers, the dark grassy plains, even the mountains. This is definitely a world we shouldn't give up to the Titans. This breathtaking scenery is our land and no one else's.

"I'll do it."

My eyes froze at the moment those words came out his mouth. Instead of a frown or small smile, a huge one appears on my face.

"I'll do it! I don't know whether I can seal the hole…But I'll do it!"

_We know you will_

* * *

**A/N**

**I apologize! I really am truly sorry! My schedule was messy and I was lazy at times. Please forgive me! I'll try to combine three episodes into one chapter and try to have it up by tomorrow. Anyways, this episode was great right? She's my favorite character (You know who I'm talking about). I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Thank you for waiting and sorry for any mistakes!**

**Inspirational song – The whole Madoka OST**

**Have a nice day and stay safe!**

( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ


	12. Eren and Someone Unexpected

**Hey everyone! Nothing much to say, just hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Chapter Start!**

* * *

_The year 850, in Trost…The sight of Eren Jaeger unleashing the power of a mysterious Titan was more than enough to terrify his fellow soldiers. As Eren and his friends could do nothing but argue their innocence, they were saved by Dot Pixis, the high commander of the southern territories. _

**Cia's POV**

It didn't take long for Commander Pixis to approve Eren's words. Right now, we're currently waiting for him to call his strategists so they could develop a plan of some sort. I was seated on a nearby crate, watching as he called them over.

"He's just going to run with it?" Hearing Armin's question, my eyes focus on him instead.

"But there's no sense in doubting his decision." Eren answers, though he sounds a bit unsure. "Commander Pixis must see potential in something the rest of us can't see."

"Something we can't see?" Armin asks, shocked.

"Also, I think there's a bigger issue that must be addressed before the plan can be executed. And the Commander fully recognizes it."

What exactly was Eren talking about? My brow rises at his words.

"What do you mean?"

"The Titan aren't our only enemy."

This was interesting. So the Titans aren't the only things we should be afraid of? I didn't have time to ask a question before Commander Pixis joined us.

"There's no time to waste. I will need your help, young soldiers."

I wonder what's going to happen, aside from us winning. Seeing as the Commander and Eren walked off, probably talking about the plan or something, and Armin talking with the other two strategists, I decide to let my mind wander. All the way back to when I was little, when I used to live in Trost.

_**/Flashback/ **_

"_Hey Doci!" Turning my head to look at him, a smile appears on my face at what he's holding. "My mom said that these are 'thank you' gifts for being able to cope with me."_

"_Thank you gifts?" I sat near a tall tree, playing with the ruffles of my green dress. He takes a seat beside me, handing me the two blue ribbons. _

"_Yeah. I don't know why she named it that but she said it had something to do with how I only have one friend." Did she really mean that?_

"_Wait...You didn't have friends either?" That was surprising! I thought I was the only one. _

"_No I have plenty of friends!" He suddenly yells. My smile lessens as I turn back down to stare at the ribbons._

"_Oh…That's nice." He suddenly stood up._

"_But you're my…favorite." He mumbled the last word but I still heard it. I stop playing with the two pieces of cloth and jump up, hugging him. _

"_Thank you! That really means a lot!" I was just so happy!_

"_H-Hey! Get off of me, I can't breathe!" Laughing, I let go. Lifting up the ribbons I smile. _

"_Want to help me put these on?" He looks away, putting a hand out towards me. _

"_Fine." _

_**That was the first time I was given a gift. **_

"_What do you mean we're moving?" I ask my brother. He was busy packing everything. Not bothering to make eye contact with me in the slightest. _

"_You heard me. We're moving to Zhiganshina." He answers, as if it wasn't a big deal. _

"_But why-When?!" I ask, with wide eyes. It wasn't going to be any day this week was it? I can feel my heart beat fast at just the thought of leaving anytime this week. He stops putting items into a box as he turns to face me. _

"_Because it's too much money to waste living here. Everything is so expensive just because we're closer to the king. If it goes on like this, who knows how long it will be before we finally end up broke. Besides, I heard from a few of my friends that Zhiganshina doesn't have food that cost a lot. The houses are much cheaper which means more money for our survival." He answers, his eyes not wavering for a second. _

"_But what about her? She'll-_

"_She's not coming back. I don't know what happened; she hasn't contacted me for over a year. We can't afford to stay here any longer. I love her but this is what's best for us." Were his words really true? What happened to all those stories she told him? Did he just make them up so I wouldn't lose hope? _

"_But…But when?" My voice was cracking and I can feel myself shivering. _

"_Tomorrow, morning." Those were the final words I heard before I rushed out the door and sped off towards the tree. _

_I hadn't stopped running; I needed to tell him as soon as possible. Hopefully he's there, please be there. Finally reaching it, I stop and begin to pant. All that running took its toll on me and I nearly fell on the grass._

"_Doci? Is something the matter?" Hearing his voice, I pick up my head. _

"_I need to tell you something!" _

"_Yeah um, what is it? Are you-_

"_I'm moving!" He closes his mouth and only stares at me. Was he mad that I didn't tell him earlier? Is he happy that I'm moving? Why isn't he saying anything?! For a few seconds, it was quiet. Not even the people around us could be heard. Our attention was only focused on each other. _

"_When?"_

"_Tomorrow." A small frown appears on his face, or at least I think so. It was only there for a second before he smiled again. He stood up, walking over to me and patting my head._

"_That's nothing to feel sad about."_

"_Bu-_

"_Because we won't forget about each other! I'm sure we'll see each other again, and when we do," He stops patting my head, "We'll be even more happy then today!" Looking up at him through my bangs, I can feel my bottom lip quiver as I begin to cry._

"_Y-yeah." He panics for a moment not knowing what to do and suddenly hugs me. _

"_Stop crying, it makes you look ugly." Somehow even though he said that, I couldn't help but smile and hug him back. _

"_Does a smile m-make me pretty then?" He was quiet for a while and I was beginning to feel sad again. _

"_Yeah…" _

_**And that was the first time I was ever complimented.**_

"Cia." Who was that?

"Cia?" Are they calling me? I'm 'Doci' aren't I?

"Cia!"

**Present, Cia's POV**

"Uh, yeah?" Looking up, I notice both Armin and Mikasa were watching me. "Is there something on my face? Wh-

"You're crying.**" **Did I just hear Armin correctly? Not believing him, I rub my eye and yes, there was water.

"What were you thinking about?" I open my mouth to answer his question but close it.

"That's not important right now, where's the Commander?" I felt bad for not answering him but there's something I need to do. He stares at me unsurely before pointing off to his left.

"Thank you Armin, I'll be back." I nod at the both of them before running off. He just finished talking to the some three people who I don't know. "Commander!" I shout, waving my arm in the air so he notices me. He stops walking and waits for me to reach him.

"Yes?"

"I have a request." He smiles, looking down at me.

"And what would that be?"

"Can I have permission to talk to my comrades down there?" I point down to where all the soldiers were beginning to walk. Probably to where they were assigned too. He looks thoughtful for a second before answering.

"Permission granted." A huge smile appears on my face at those words.

"Thank you. I'll be back fast." Using my 3DMG, I swing down the walls and towards the 104th trainees. Making my way through Garrison soldiers, with excuse me's and sorry's, I finally reach them.

"Cia?" Hearing Marco's voice, I look up, smiling at the little group.

"Hey everyone. Just thought I should wish you all luck." The only ones I notice are Marco, Christa, Connie, Reiner, Bertholdt, and Ymir.

"That's great for you to come see us." Christa smiles, her bright blue orbs filled with joy. For some reason though, I felt someone burning holes into my back. Turning around, I was surprised to find no one there, aside from Jean who just looked plain confused.

"Hey Cia, you know your ribbons are completely destroyed, right?" Ymir tells me while holding onto Christa. I instantly blush, covering the top of my ponytails.

"Ymir, that's not nice and you know that." Christa scolds Ymir, but she just laughs.

"It's fine, I know they're dirty and all but it's okay. I've got spares." Everyone watches as I pull them off, placing them inside one of my pockets. Opening a pocket on my jacket, I take out two blue ribbons and proceed to wrap my hair up again.

"Oh so it really was you at the boy's barracks?" Reiner jokingly says which leaves everyone asking him questions about what I was doing there. Christa offered to help me, which I happily accepted. Once we were done, I thanked her.

"Please don't risk anything and do your best protecting Eren. Oh and Reiner," I turned to look at both Bertholdt and him, "Mind letting Annie know that I said not to worry." Though he was confused, he nodded none the less.

"Alright, now hurry up and go back to where you're supposed to." Connie tells me, with a huge smile though.

"I'll be off now. See you all, after this is over." As I turn to leave, my face connects with something, or rather, someone's chest. My hand goes up to rub my nose, which sure did hurt. Looking up, I found that it was Jean.

"Where did you get those ribbons?" He asks, with a raised brow.

"I had them since I was little, they were a gift. From a friend…" Why did he care so much? As much as I enjoy running my mouth and having conversations with my comrades, I had to return and help Armin start the mission.

"Did you ever live in Trost?" He asks, pointing to the direction of the district.

"Jeez Jean, what's with all these questions?" Connie asks him, playfully. I guess I'm not the only one who finds this weird.

"Yeah why? We have a mi-

"Doci." My eyes widen at the word he just uttered. Or rather, the nickname he just said. While everyone was staring at us with raised brows and confused looks, water began to gather up in my eyes. I finally remembered that we weren't alone so I wiped my tears away with my arm. There was a light tap on my head, I lift my head only to see Jean with his arms crossed and an annoyed look.

"Stop crying, it makes you look hideous." There were a few gasps and shocked faces; some were even calling out Jean's name. I for one didn't care and smiled instead.

"Does a smile make me look pretty then?" A light pink hue found itself on his cheeks as he clenched his fists. He didn't have time to answer as we were suddenly reminded about our mission.

"Trainees! What are you doing? Get over here!" A captain who I forgot the name of yells. Sending one last smile to everyone, I race off in the opposite direction, hoping to catch up with Armin.

_8 years of pursuing my first friend_

* * *

**A/N**

**Sorry if you didn't like this chapter. I tried my best and I really hope you liked this. Sorry for any mistakes and if I made anyone OOC. Since school started today, updates will probably be every three days, if I work for hours on it. Anyways, I need to go to finish up some work and then I'm off to bed. Wish you all a nice night and/or day!**

**Inspirational Song**** – 15 Years of Pursuing A Cute Boy**

**Performed By - ****Hatsune Miku **

(＾▽＾*)

Bye all!


	13. It Wasn't In Vain

_**I'm glad most of you enjoyed the last chapter. I really had no clue if you all would like it or not but I'm so happy you did. It really was a surprise that it was Jean. Well, not much to talk about aside from me loving my reviewers, followers, and everyone else. Including those who read and favorite. Thank you so much and I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!**_

**Chapter Start!**

_No one knows the secrets about a Titan shifter or how it feels to transform. What makes them think controlling it would be so easy?_

* * *

"Armin," He looks away from his gear to stare at me, "It's a red flare." His eyes widen for a second before running off, leaving me and the others behind. Not knowing what to do, I run off after him only to bump into his back.

"No Cia, you stay."

"But it's Eren and Mika-

"It doesn't matter!" He yells, turning around and grabbing my shoulders. "I'll check on them but you, you need to stay here. Just in case we need to fight, you go and protect as many people as you can. I'll make sure Eren knows what he's doing but I need you to stay."

My eyes were wide as he said this. My mouth turns into a small smirk as I lay my hand atop his. "Alright, stay safe." He nods, giving my shoulders a squeeze before running off. Turning myself around, I run off to meet up with Annie who was waiting, patiently beside a crate.

"We should go." She says, already walking off, her 3DMG bouncing alongside her.

"Where to?" She merely points to where Jean, Marco, and Connie are. As soon as we're next to them, a leader comes up beside us.

"You five!" We turn to stare at him. "We're moving out now!" My steps are wobbly by just imagining the Titan's hungry faces again. Just as we're about to leap off the wall, my back is softly hit. Looking to my left, I notice Jean with a small smile. This manages to give me the strength I need which makes me fly down to meet with the others.

"You just need to keep the Titans in the corner of the city. Stay focused on that, and draw them there. Got it? You don't need to fight. Trainees, form groups of four and run along the ground. When you reach the wall, jump up. Don't get killed. If any Titans break away, we'll take care of them."

"If?" Jean asks, a frown appearing on his face. "Isn't it more of a 'when' than an 'if'?"

It's no doubt that a Titan or rather, multiple Titans will drift away but what happens if it's too late?

"If we think we're in danger," Annie's voice pulls my attention away from our leader, "Can we deviate from our orders?"

Her question makes me bite my lip. What if he says no and we need to fight or else we'll be executed?

"If you believe it'll help."

A sigh of relief rather than a thank you is what comes next. Two strong quakes are felt which makes me lose my footing. If it weren't for Annie by my side, I would've fell flat on my face.

"Kirschtein squad go!" Letting go of Annie's jacket, I speed off ahead. I make sure not to lose track of Jean. Right away, we're able to draw at least two Titans. Annie and I drift away from Jean and Connie once the Titans are too close to us.

"Annie! How far do we go?" She shakes her head and continues running. It's not that my legs are tired but what if more Titans come to us? What would we do if they ended up in front of us too? Annie suddenly runs past me to the left. I follow after her, wondering why she wanted to turn. Turning my head around, I notice that the Titan that was following us is fighting with our leader. This must mean we're meeting up with Jean and Connie again.

"Cia, Annie!" Connie shouts at the two of us, his eyes wide and full of surprise.

"Connie what happened?!" He shakes his head, pointing with his blade behind us. Turning my head to the right, I resist the urge to quit running. Our leader, the man who gave us the orders, was in a Titan's hand, about to be eaten in a matter of seconds. What shocked me even more were the two Titans that suddenly appeared.

"Looks like we have to deviate from the plan, like it or not."

"There's three now!" I'm beyond terrified. We're on the ground and all these Titans are chasing us. "You guys, what do we-

My voice is cut off by Annie who pulls me up, just as a Titan hand came in my direction. Looking up, I notice that we've already reached the wall and I immediately fly up to the top. Once reaching the top, I land on my shoulders, being unable to land properly.

"Thanks Annie." She looks down at me before shaking her head and offering me her hand. Just as I grab a hold of it, I hear Connie's voice.

"Jean!" Way down below, we watch as he's being chased by a Titan. "What's wrong? Why isn't he using his Maneuver Gear?"

"No, it can't be!" My hands form into fists by my side as I think of a reason.

"No way…Is it broken?" Connie asks, his eyes directly on us. Isn't there a way for us to help him? Surely there is.

"We need to go down there." My voice is shaking as well as my hands. As much as I want to stay atop the wall, Jean is in danger. I can't let anyone else die today because unlike Eren, many of us don't have the ability to transform.

"It wouldn't be safe," Annie's eyes shift down to a Titan that was staring up at us, "As long as that Titan's eyes are on us, we can't do anything."

"But we can't just leave him there to die." Ideas of how to rescue him were going through my mind and all of them ended up in disasters. One would die while the other lived or all of us would be eaten. We can't just standby though.

"Jean!" Connie's shout pulls me away from my thoughts as I turn to look at Jean again. "His maneuver gear really is busted."

Is he really going to try to take that person's 3DMG? The body was crushed by a huge boulder so there's absolutely no possibility of that person living.

"What's wrong?" Marco asks us, looking down at where we were watching Jean. His eyes widen once he notices a Titan approaching him. Unlike us, he immediately swings down to help Jean. I turn to stare at the others before swinging down as well. Before long they catch up and we're running atop the roofs of houses trying to catch another Titan's attention. Once we find Jean however, a Titan's hands are reaching for him. Connie immediately springs into action, drawing it away from Jean by bumping into it.

"What are you doing?!" Jean yells at him. My body acts on its own as I jump off the roof and swing by, pulling him up. His eyes are full of surprise when he notices that I came along too.

"Look who's talking! Hurry and get out of here!" Listening to Connie, I take off with Jean in my arms.

"Hey I can fly on my own!" He shouts though he makes no effort of moving. Probably because he doesn't want me to drop him on accident, that'd be really horrible.

"I know you can but we can't that 3DMG malfunctioning, can we?" I smile down at him, holding onto his legs and waist tightly. His face takes on a light red color as he turns away from me and I can't help but wonder if he's feeling sick or something. Before I have time to ask, his eyes widen as he lets out a frightened gasp. I follow his eyes and that's when I see it. A terrifying Titan with its mouth wide open, right in front of our faces. Its teeth are completely visible and its eyes are focused only on us. W-why? How was it in the air? Was this it for the two of us? After we just remembered…Someone decides to pull this sick joke? As I wait for death to come, the sound of blade cutting skin captures my attention. My face is one of both confusion and relief.

"Go." Hearing Annie's voice I take off.

"Damn, that was a close one." Landing on one of the roofs, I let Jean down. He quickly straightens his jacket and stares at me. I only nod before running off. We're both dodging buildings and a few small Titans, our eyes only on the wall in front of us. Once we land, I notice the other three were behind us all this time. A hand goes up to rest on my fast beating heart.

"We're safe now." My shaking voice draws all eyes to me and I try my best to crack a small smile.

"You're insane!" Jean yells at both Connie and me. My smile disappears as I try to avoid eye contact with Jean.

"You're the crazy one! Can't believe I survived that." Connie argues, voice turning into a whisper.

"And you!" I jump at his voice; this was the first time I actually had him yell at me. "What was that stunt? You could've gotten seriously injured."

"I was just trying to help you." It's true. Due to Mikasa and Annie's training, I'm able to do more things now. No one in the squad is skinny and frail, we all have muscles due to the three years or training we had.

"It doesn't matter! You should've stayed here where it was safe." Was he serious about this? I wasn't about to let him die, no way!

"You guys we could talk about this later." Marco says, his hands moving up and down as he tries to stop the fighting.

"Look at that." Annie suddenly says, pulling our attention away from one another. What I see is amazing. There was Eren in his Titan form, carrying the boulder towards the hole. He did it…He actually did it.

"Don't let them interfere!" Was Jean talking about the Titans? "Protect Eren!" A new surge of energy flowed through me at those words. Protect Eren…I'll make sure I don't fail. Running towards the edge with my blades out, I jump off.

"I'm going off ahead!" I shout, running off with them. I need to see them. Mikasa, Armin please be safe. Don't let anything happen to you. Jumping off of a nearby building, I notice a Titan running after Eren. "No way…It's an aberrant?" My eyes scan the area, trying to find some way to slice it or at least draw its attention. They land on one squad leader who's following it. Alright, I'll do what I did before. Latching onto one of the many buildings, I swing in front of it. Large eyes focus on me; its hands reach out to try to grab me. The time I spent messing with it, helped the leader catch up and slice its neck.

"You don't stop fighting, got that." He orders me with a rough but tired voice.

"Yes sir!" He only nods at me before flying off. I shouldn't be wasting any more time, who knows when they'll appear again. As I run atop the roofs, jumping from one to the next. A loud noise is heard and it shakes me. The only possible thing that that could've been, was the boulder. Had Eren finally done it? This urges me to run faster and finally after a few minutes, I finally see them. Armin was pulling Eren out of his Titan but it proved to be difficult. I notice another soldier; Rico slices his arm, pulling him out.

"Eren!" Mikasa screamed at the three of them.

"You all!" I shout at the three of them, swinging down from the roof and landing on the ground. Armin turns to look at me but before I can smile back, two Titans block them from my view. "Armin, Eren!" I watch in fear as their hands reach out towards them. "Wait!" I can slay them. I can kill them. They're not taking either of them! Just as I'm about to press down to latch onto one of the Titan's ankles, they're on the floor. Pieces of their necks having been sliced out. Not paying attention to our savior, I run up to the two of them, Mikasa by my side.

"Hey, brats." Someone from atop the Titan's head says. "What's going on here?" He asks, staring down at us. His short black hair swayed in the wind along with the beautiful Survey Corps cape.

**Just **

_**Who was he?**_

* * *

_Afterwards, the sudden arrival and assistance of the Survey Corps, along with the efforts of the Garrison's engineers, allowed Wall Rose to withstand the Titans once more. It took a full day to eradicate the remaining Titans now trapped within Trost. The barrage of fixed cannon fire from atop the walls was endless. HE rounds killed most of the Titans swarming the walls. The few surviving Titans were primarily killed by the Survey Corps. During that operation, humanity managed to take one 4-meter class and one 7-meter class alive. However, 207 were dead or missing, and another 897 were wounded. Humanity had indeed scored its first victory against the Titans, but there were too many casualties for anyone to celebrate._

* * *

"Annie?" The soldiers were ordered to clean up the bodies and it's the 2nd day of doing this. Thankfully I hadn't found a body of someone I was close to. I was busy lifting a body to place in the nearby row but the sound of Annie's voice drew me away from lifting. Once I approached her however, she didn't look like her composed self at all. Her usually calm blue eyes were wide while her bottom lip was slightly quivering.

"I'm sorry." She continues speaking those words, attention only on the corpse in front of us. Looking down, I found out why she was shocked. The body, though the face was completely bitten off, had a familiar hairstyle. The two black tails on either side of her face, I recognize them. She was the girl that was always with us. She was Mina. Tears begin to fall down the sides of my face. There's no way…No possible way that this body could be hers. Then I remember.

"_Mina Carolina!" _

Armin told us this. Armin told everyone and yet, I didn't pay attention.

"Apologizing won't help." Reiner tells her. His eyes shift to mine before looking back down at her. "Just mourn her passing." I resist the urge to rub my eyes because I still had a job to do. Sliding my glove off, I rub her shoulder and smile sadly before walking off to the remaining bodies. Before I slide my glove on, I find Jean talking with one of the doctors. She walks away and I'm able to get a clear view of Jean's face. Something was off though.

"Jean?" I call his name, wondering what happened. He has the same face as Annie which means…

"Marco." He whispers shakily with trembling hands. Turning my head, that's when I see him. Marco's body was nearly bitten in half. Part of his chest and face were gone. The leader, captain, the nice person who always seemed to know how to calm everyone down…Was dead?

"No…Marco?" I thought he was fine...I thought he couldn't die. This can't…It can't be but I know it's real. Crumbling down to the floor, I cover my face with my left hand, holding the glove tightly in my right. Tears seeped through the openings between my fingers, falling down to the floor. Just how…Just how many bodies were we going to find today?! These aren't soldiers no, they were our friends. Now they're gone from this cruel place we call home but how is this fair to them? They did their training, Marco did everything he could have done to join the MP and yet, with only one day left, someone decides to take it all away. How could they pull something as cruel as this?

_**Just how!**_

* * *

**A/N**

**Ah sorry for updating so late. Schoolwork has gotten in the way and well I didn't have time for anything. I'll try my best to update twice or even once a week but I can't promise that. I'll draw a picture for this chapter and post it on my DA. This chapter made me cry b/c of Marco and Jean. Only one more episode left and I will have nearly nothing to do anymore. Sorry for any mistakes you may find. I hope you have a wonderful and nice day/night! **

**Inspirational Song – Eye Water**

**Composed by - Hiroyuki Sawano**

(/□＼*)

**Thanks for reading!**


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